Home visit to parolee ends with felony charges
A local parolee was arrested on multiple felony charges Tuesday after his parole officer and a local drug task force agent conducted a home visit and allegedly found firearms and a large amount of drugs in his apartment.
Lawayne Dennard Natt, 35, who lists an Arbor Street address, was taken into custody outside his apartment around 4 p.m. Tuesday and charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, along with possession of meth with purpose to deliver, possession of cocaine with propose to deliver, possession of marijuana with purpose to deliver, possession of MDMA with purpose to deliver, possession of prescription drugs with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft by re-
ceiving, possession of a firearm by certain persons, and unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate a crime.
He remained in custody Wednesday on zero bond and a parole hold and is set to appear July 10 in Garland County District Court.
According to the affidavit, the parole officer and the DTF agent went to the residence to conduct a home visit on Natt, a maximum supervision parolee. They observed a maroon car, known to belong to Natt, parked in front of the apartment listed as his parole address. They knocked on the apartment door, but there was no answer, and started to leave when they spotted Natt on the back side of the apartment and made contact with him and another male.
Natt told them he was working on two vehicles with the other male. When asked which apartment he was living in, Natt pointed to an upstairs apartment, which was different from the one listed as his address. He reportedly claimed he had previously been living in one apartment, but moved into another because it was bigger.
The agent told Natt they would need to check the inside of the apartment to verify he was living there. Natt told them his girlfriend had the key and was at work and could not leave. He also said his landlord was in the hospital so he couldn’t let them in, either.
At that point, one of Natt’s neighbors reportedly asked him if he still had items in a third apartment. Natt said there were still items in that apartment, but they did not belong to him. The agent got Natt’s keys, but they would not work on either the apartment Natt claimed to live in or the one listed as his parole address.
After Natt continued to give conflicting statements, the DTF agent was able to obtain one of his two cellphones and began searching through it, allegedly finding conversations believed to be drug deals. At that point, according to the affidavit, Natt’s demeanor began to change and he started pacing, stuttering and acting frustrated.
Due to Natt’s prior criminal history, the agent called for assistance from other DTF agents. Natt’s girlfriend arrived on scene, stating she had gone to the hospital to collect keys for two of the apartments, but did not get a key for the apartment Natt claimed to occupy.
When the agent contacted the owner of the apartment complex, attempting to get a key for the apartment Natt was allegedly living in, he was informed Natt and his girlfriend had been living in an entirely different apartment for about two months. Natt was detained at that point and agents took the keys he had given them earlier and were able to open the door to the apartment the landlord said Natt was living in.
Upon entering the apartment, agents allegedly smelled a strong odor of marijuana. They also found several items indicating Natt lived there, including photos, mail, documents, and numerous pill bottles in his name.
Inside the apartment, agents found a plastic bag in plain sight on a table near the front door that reportedly contained methamphetamine. Agents also found 169 grams of marijuana, around 16 grams of meth and 6.5 grams of cocaine, nine Alprazolam pills, one Clonazepam pill, 18 suspected ecstasy pills, two sets of digital scales, $1,563 in cash, a loaded semi-automatic 9-mm firearm, and a loaded magazine. Another $1,173 in cash was reportedly found in Natt’s pocket.