Three people arrested in TCU drug sweep formally charged

More charges will follow soon.

Photo by Matt Coffelt

The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office formally charged three people Wednesday in connection with the TCU drug investigation.

During the investigation, Fort Worth Police arrested 24 people, including 16 students, in February based on information gathered during a six-month investigation of drug sales near TCU’s campus, according to the arrest warrants and police reports.

Of those arrested, William Joseph Hoffman, 20, Katherine Petrie, 20, and Jordan Sherman, 22, are the first of the 24 to be charged. Sherman was arrested on March 2, according to police records.

Melody McDonald, public information officer for the district attorney’s office, wrote in an email that more charges could be filed Thursday.

Hoffman, a former student, was charged with delivery of alprazolam (Xanax), less than 28 grams, in a drug-free zone, according to the district attorney’s office. The charge is a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Because his charge includes “in a drug-free zone,” the charge was increased to a third-degree felony instead of state jail felony. A drug-free zone is defined in the Texas Health and Safety Code as including institutions of higher education and within 1,000 feet of the property.

Hoffman was not named during the original round of the arrests but turned himself in to the Tarrant County Jail on February 16, the day after the TCU drug bust, according to police reports.

Petrie and Sherman both were charged with one count delivery of marijuana, more than .25 ounces but less than five pounds, which is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in a state jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

University spokeswoman Lisa Albert wrote in an email that Petrie was a TCU student but was separated from the university. Petrie also was arrested on suspicion of unlawful delivery of a manufactured controlled substance but has not been charged.

According to the “after action report” released last week by the Fort Worth Police Department, no drugs were seized during the arrest from the home where Petrie was arrested.

Sherman was named in one of Petrie’s arrest warrants from the six-month investigation, and according to that warrant, he sold marijuana to an undercover officer. Albert wrote in an email on Wednesday that Sherman was not affiliated with the university.

Hoffman, Petrie, and Sherman all have their initial appearances at 9 a.m. on March 22, according to court records.