Lubbock man faces 20 years, pleads guilty to possessing more than 8 pounds of heroin

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A Lubbock man pleaded guilty Monday to possession with the intent to distribute more than eight pounds of heroin.

The federal guilty plea means 38-year-old Taylor Watson faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and from three years to life of supervised release.

According to federal court documents, on Feb. 21, 2022, DEA agents were surveilling Watson after receiving information he was trafficking heroin and fentanyl.

Agents saw Watson approach a Nissan passenger vehicle and place a bag behind the driver’s seat. Watson got into the driver’s seat and another male entered the front passenger’s seat.

The agents followed Watson eastbound on 19th Street and saw him swerve his vehicle into a nearby lane and crash into another eastbound vehicle. Watson kep driving and eventually stopped near the intersection of 18th and Ave. U.

Soon after Watson stopped his vehicle, law enforcement agents approached the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop for the traffic violations.

While conducting the investigation into the hit and run traffic incident, Lubbock County Sheriff K-9 Sergeant Michael Macias arrived and had his K-9 conduct an open-air sniff of Watson’s vehicle. The K-9 gave a positive alert to the odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle. After the alert, agents searched the vehicle and found approximately four kilograms of suspected heroin.

Watson was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on Feb. 22, 2022.

Court documents show the heroin was packaged in six large, clear cellophane packages and two smaller packages. The large packages were found in the bag Watson was seen carrying and the smaller packages were found in the driver’s side door panel.

The suspected heroin was submitted to the DEA South Central Laboratory where testing confirmed the substance was in fact heroin and weighed a total of 3,889 grams.

Watson admits that he possessed this heroin and that he possessed it with the intent to distribute it.

Watson is currently in the Lubbock County Detention Center on a federal detainer. His sentencing date has not been set.

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