Marshall man sentenced for meth possession

MARSHALL – Marshall man was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance by a jury on Tuesday and sentenced to 40 years in prison. According to the Harrison County District Attorney’s Office and our news colleagues at KETK, this comes after Anthony Byrd, 38, was arrested in March during a drug raid at the Timber Village Apartments. “After officers located and detained Byrd, a search of the apartment was conducted, which uncovered a variety of narcotics,” the district attorney’s office said. “Inside the apartment, officers found marijuana, Xanax, hydrocodone and 469 grams of methamphetamine that had been stamped into pill form mimicking the drug Adderall.”

During his trial, officials said the jury heard testimony from a lead detective who said Byrd was the focus of their investigation after they received information of drug sales coming out of the apartment.

A Marshall police lieutenant testified that recently officers have been coming into contact with a variety of homemade pills disguised as another drug, usually fentanyl or methamphetamine.

“He testified that these pills are coming from the cartels in Mexico and are pouring into communities everywhere,” the district attorney’s office said.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after a 15 minute deliberation, and during the punishment phase, deliberated for seven minutes before handing down the 40 year sentence.

“It is hoped that this verdict does send a strong message to the drug dealers of Harrison County that those who choose to deal narcotics in Harrison County, will be vigilantly investigated and prosecuted,” officials said.

The Harrison County Joint Violent Crimes and Narcotics Task Force is a joint effort between the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Marshall Police Department and Harrison County District Attorney’s Office.