Ashlle Marie Sanchez was found guilty of delivery of a controlled substance by a six-man, six-woman jury today in 132nd District Court.
Sanchez, 23, of Snyder, was charged with selling narcotics to an undercover peace officer on Jan. 29. The jury heard District Attorney Ben Smith’s opening statement on Tuesday and he then proceeded with his case.
Smith said in his opening statements that he believed the trial would be a “simple trial” for the jury. He said he believed the “most interesting” evidence the jury would see would be the footage of the apparent drug deal executed by an undercover officer, recorded with a camera hidden inside a pen.
“Although you may not be able to actually see the drugs change hands, you should be able to hear the conversations,” Smith said.
Sanchez’ attorney, Jill Propst, reserved her opening statements until she began her case.
The first witness to testify was Lorenzo Arredondo, a peace officer currently working for the Upton County Sheriff’s Office. Arredondo testified he was contacted by the Scurry County Sheriff’s Office in late 2013 about helping execute undercover drug busts in the county.
“I was given a list of names of people suspected of dealing narcotics,” Arredondo testified. “I learned other names along the way, including that of Ashlle Sanchez.”
Arredondo testified that he had dealt with Sanchez’ husband, which is how he was able to contact Sanchez.
During the deals, Arredondo would go by an alias.
On the morning of Jan. 29, Arredondo said he went to Sanchez’ residence in the 500 block of 28th Street with a pen equipped with an audio and video recorder in his shirt pocket.
According to the video shown in court Tuesday, Arredondo asked Sanchez for $100 worth of “ice.” He testified that is a slang term for methamphetamine.
In the video, a woman, identified as Sanchez, says she would give Arredondo about a gram of the substance in exchange for the $100.
The video shows several other adults in the residence, and the voices of several children could be heard.
Scurry County Sheriff’s Deputies Juan Rodriguez and Kevin Roemish also testified on Tuesday, as did Marissa Silva Gomez, a chemist from Midland who tested the drugs to ensure they were a controlled substance.
Sanchez did not testify during the trial.
The jury reached a guilty verdict at about 9:50 a.m. today. In his final summation before the verdict was reached, Smith said this case could send a message to other people in Scurry County who are involved with narcotics.
“The drug dealers are paying attention to this case,” Smith said. “It’s time for us to send a message that this will not be tolerated.”
The penalty phase began earlier today.
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