Pine Island Drug Dealer Convicted

It took a jury of twelve Waller County citizens about 15 minutes to deliberate and convict longtime Hempstead/Pine Island resident Brent Derrick, (46) of dealing methamphetamine from his home in Pine Island. The sale of the methamphetamine in the summer of 2021 was captured on video surveillance using a confidential informant working with the Westside HIDTA task force and the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. Derrick has elected to be sentenced by the judge in September and faces up to twenty years in prison. District Attorney Elton R. Mathis stated, “Methamphetamine is one of the worst drugs an individual can become addicted to, eventually losing all sense of who they once were and in effect becoming a walking living zombie with no regard for anything other than getting their next high. I want to personally thank Sheriff Troy Guidry for listening to the complaints from neighbors and making the decision to actively attempt to shut down Derrick’s drug dealing public nuisance there in Pine Island. Places such as Derrick’s home are magnets for thieves and addicts looking for a place to store stolen property and get their next hit.” The work done by Westside HIDTA, the Austin County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Hempstead Police Department and other associated agencies is also very much appreciated. The case against Derrick was prosecuted by A.D.A. Bennett Dodson assisted by A.D.A. Bryce Pringle.