An El Campo Fentanyl dealer’s chances of getting out of prison before his 84th birthday dropped last week when the verdict against him was upheld on appeal.
The 13th District Court of Appeals’ judgment against 78-year-old Lawrence Herald sided with the life sentence handed down by Judge Randy Clapp in Wharton County’s 329th District Court on Aug. 15, 2023.
The justices only made one change, when the punishment started, from Aug. 3, 2023 as noted on court paperwork to Aug. 15, 2023.
Convicted of having more than 4 grams of fentanyl, Herald argued he had ineffective council who “failed to convey a plea bargainâ€, failed to present mitigating evidence during the punishment phase; and was ‘constructively absent from material phases of trial due to his incomprehensible speech,’†according to the judgment written by appeals court Justice Clarissa Silva.
The Wharton County District Attorney’s Office had, at one point before going to trial, offered Herald a six-year probationary sentence. That offer was later dropped.
Herald claimed he knew nothing about an earlier plea bargain being offered.
“Ain’t nobody offered me no probation,†he said during a court conference on July 29, 2023, later added, “I didn’t say no to nobody. Nobody ever asked me that.â€
During that same hearing, however, Herald’s attorney asked him on the court record if he wanted to take the six-year probation plea and Herald told him no.
“Six-year probation for something I didn’t – I get these pills and stuff from my doctor. I get them legally,†he said.
With an enhanced charge, Herald then faced a minimum of 15 years behind bars without the possibility of parole.
“Nothing in the record establishes a reasonable probability that (Herald) would have accepted the plea bargain offer. Rather, (Herald) rejected the offer in open court immediately prior to the commencement of the trial,†Silva wrote.
Herald’s 1310 Thrift home in El Campo was raided on Sept. 5, 2019 and 113 pills that appeared to be hydrocodone, but actually tested as Fentanyl, were seized along with about $10,000 cash and a pistol.
He went on trial Aug. 1, 2023, but opted to flee rather than return to court the next day. Herald was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to life.
His pickup was located seven days later in Fayette County and Herald was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to prison Sept. 12, 2023 and filed an appeal two days later.
Herald is currently being held in the Estelle Unit in Huntsville.
The first Wharton County drug dealer to receive a life sentence following the change in laws regarding Fentanyl made during the last legislative session, TDC records indicate Herald can be considered for parole on Aug. 29, 2029. He would be 84 years old if it were granted at the time.
Now, those dealing Fentanyl can be charged with murder if the narcotic results in a death as well.
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