Four-Plus Years for Stealing Drugs From Police

DALLAS (CN) - An East Texas man will spend 56 months in federal prison for brazenly stealing 110 pounds of marijuana from an evidence room and swapping it out with fire-starter logs.

Roderrete Dewrayne McClure was sentenced Monday in Tyler Federal Court. Prosecutors said McClure and an associate stole the drugs from the Tenaha City Marshal's office in Shelby County sometime before Aug. 22, 2010. Tenaha, pop. 1,100, is in East Texas, near the Louisiana line.

"Fire starter logs were substituted to cover the taking of the marijuana," prosecutors said in a statement. "On August 17 and 19, 2010, McClure took digital images of the stolen marijuana and transmitted them to a person identified only as (T.F.) in order to facilitate the sale of the drugs in the Dallas area. In July 2010, McClure provided some of the stolen marijuana to another person, identified as K.M., to sell in the area of Shreveport, Louisiana. McClure admitted that he received payments in exchange for the marijuana."

McClure pleaded guilty nine months ago to conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He was indicted in September 2013, accused of stealing drugs from the marshal's office in 2009 and 2010.

According to the indictment, McClure used a rifle purchased at Wal-Mart to shoot out the glass door of the office in September 2009 and stole 20 pounds of marijuana.

McClure and his associate ransacked the marshal's office and evidence room, damaged the video recording system and left a Spanish-language document and map indicating travel from Brownsville to make it appear a Mexican drug organization was responsible, according to the indictment.

McClure also was accused of stealing seven guns, cocaine and prescription drugs from the evidence room, KTRE-TV, an ABC station, reported Monday.

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