62 Year Old Meth Cooker Sentenced to 20 Years, LIVINGSTON, March 13, 2018 - 258th District Judge E.L. McClendon sentenced 62 year old Danny Lee Schanfish of Livingston to a period of twenty years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice following a contested sentencing hearing Tuesday afternoon. Schanfish, who had previously chosen to be sentenced by the court, was convicted of the first degree felony offense of Possession or Transport of Chemicals with the Intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance following a jury trial on February 8th. The prosecution stemmed from a January 29, 2015 investigation by Polk County Sheriff’s narcotics detectives of Schanfish’s residence located at 142 Loop 116 north of Livingston. In response to Crimestopper’s tips that methamphetamine was being distributed from the location, Detectives Anthony Lowrie, Christian Schanmier and William Jerry went to the residence and identified the occupants as Danny Lee Schanfish, his son Jared Schanfish and Samantha Simons. A search of the premises revealed trace quantities of methamphetamine as well as quantities of pseudoephedrine, lithium batteries, drain cleaner, fertilizer and rock salt which Lowrie testified were all associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine. In a recorded interview with Lowrie which was presented to the jury, Schanfish admitted to being aware that a small amount of methamphetamine was located at the property but minimized his involvement in the manufacture of the drug. Following his initial arrest, Schanfish jumped bail failing to appear for a scheduled court setting in March of 2016. He remained at large until July of 2017 at which time he was discovered hiding in a closet in his residence by deputies. Schanfish, who had been previously convicted in 2006 on Polk County charges of Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance; and a federal charge of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, faced a possible sentence of 5 to 99 years or Life in prison. Following pronouncement of the sentence by McClendon, Polk County District Attorney Lee Hon stated that he was “pleased with the judge’s decision and hoped that it would send a message that the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine in Polk County will not be tolerated. Meth is a serious problem among drug abusers and criminals in Polk County and we will continue to do everything we can to eradicate this drug from our county.”
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