TEXARKANA, Texas – A 28-year-old Dallas, Texas, man has been convicted of federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Collin Garrett Hayden was found guilty by a jury of obstruction of justice on March 6, 2020 following a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III. Hayden pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon in jail before the trial began.
According to information presented in court, in 2016, law enforcement began working a drug trafficking investigation into methamphetamine trafficking from Dallas into East Texas. During the investigation, Hayden and his roommate were heard on an undercover recording offering to sell drugs to another individual. Further investigation revealed Hayden had been personally selling cocaine in the Dallas strip clubs in which he performed and had been supplying methamphetamine to a Shreveport, Louisiana, buyer who was traveling through East Texas to purchase from Hayden. When Hayden became aware of his pending federal charges, he turned on his roommate and threatened to use his association with a white supremacist group to have the roommate killed. While in custody at the Titus County jail, Hayden obtained a shank-type weapon and threatened to kill any guards who entered his cell in retaliation for a guard reporting Hayden had attempted to obtain a cell phone by bribe. Hayden was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 19, 2017, and charged with federal violations.
Under federal statutes, Hayden faces up to life in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office
The case was investigated by the Mount Pleasant office of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan R. Hornok and Donald Carter.