Although not present for the second day of her trial Tuesday December 12, 2017, a Hopkins County Jury found Keri Amanda Crump, 28, of Sulphur Springs guilty of Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 less than 1-gram. The guilty verdict was delivered around 9:30 a.m. and the sentencing phase got underway 15 minutes later. Before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the jury sentenced her to two years in state jail and assessed a $10,000 fine.
Ms. Crump was in attendance Monday. Her absence Tuesday means that law enforcement is now seeking her, according to Assistant District Attorney Clay Harrison
In April, 2017 Crump was the driver and sole occupant of a vehicle that had been involved in a single vehicle crash that occurred on I-30 eastbound at the 111-mile marker. Crump admitted to deputies at the scene she had smoked PCP just prior to the crash. When arrested by DPS on Airport Road Sunday around 6 p.m., she also admitted to the trooper that she was under the influence of PCP. She also admitted backing out while driving after smoking the PCP. In a search of the vehicle, three cigar type cigarettes were found. They appeared to be moist which was consistent with being dipped in liquid PCP, according to the arresting officer. A small vial of suspected PCP was found secreted in a cigarette package. She was taken to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs and then to Hopkins County Jail.
Crump was indicted by a Hopkins County Grand Jury in August of this year.
In a summary of the case, Assistant District Attorney Harrison wrote, “After hearing the testimony of several witnesses, the jury heard a recorded jail telephone call made by the defendant on the night of her arrest. In the call, she blames her boyfriend for getting in trouble and states that the only reason she went to get the PCP was because he wanted to get high.
“The defendant then elected to testify. She told the jury that she doesn’t know why she crashed but that she might have accidentally smoked a cigarette with PCP on it. She said that her statements to the medical personnel and police officers were not reliable because she was intoxicated at the time. She attempted to explain her jail call to her boyfriend by saying that she was referring to PCP she had purchased for him a long time ago and that she was not aware on the date of the crash that any drugs were in her car.
“A forensic chemist from the DPS crime laboratory testified that the vial found in the defendant’s car contained PCP, as well as the cigarettes and cigars found next to the vial.
“After the defendant testified, the prosecutor offered evidence of several prior theft convictions, a felony conviction for Burglary of a Habitation, and a felony conviction for Possession of a Controlled Substance from 2014 in which she also smoked PCP and crashed her car in Hopkins County.
“The jury found the defendant guilty in approximately 9 and a half minutes.
“During sentencing, the State called Chief Investigator Corley Weatherford, HCSO, who is a qualified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). He testified about the intoxicating effects of PCP. He also was one of the investigators from the 2014 PCP case.
“The State also called Detective David Gilmore, SSPD, who testified as a fingerprint expert about the defendant’s nine prior convictions including Assault, Theft, Burglary of a Habitation, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Delivery of a Controlled Substance. The Defendant is currently on probation out of Dallas County for Robbery.
“The jury sentenced the defendant to the maximum of two years confinement in state jail and the maximum fine of $10,000. The defendant did not appear for the second day of trial but the Court proceeded in absentia. There are now active warrants for her arrest and she may be indicted for Bail Jumping/Failure to Appear, which in her case carries a range of punishment of up to 20 years in prison.
