WAXAHACHIE — A Duncanville man faces 25 years in prison following a felony drug conviction in Ellis County, Attorney Lindy Beaty announced.
An Ellis County jury found Archie McNeal III, 36, guilty of Possession of a Controlled Substance (Penalty Group 1), a third-degree felony.
McNeal had pleaded not guilty to an original, more severe second-degree felony charge of Possession with Intent to Deliver.
The jury ultimately chose to convict him of the lesser-included possession offense.
The case stems from a February 2025 traffic stop in Waxahachie. A local police officer pulled McNeal over after a license plate check indicated unconfirmed vehicle insurance.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer smelled marijuana, prompting a physical search of the car.
Inside a backpack in the trunk, officers discovered: 3.5 grams of cocaine, 1.08 ounces of marijuana bud split into five bags, six empty matching bags, 20 empty blue ‘dime-sized’ baggies commonly used to package narcotics.
Officers also seized two cell s and $900 in cash— entirely in $20 bills—from McNeal’s person.
Based on the cash denominations, the small baggies, and the weight of the drugs, authorities initially arrested him for trafficking.
Though the jury opted for the lesser possession conviction, McNeal’s prior criminal history triggered Texas’ “Three Strikes” habitual offender laws.
During the sentencing phase, the jury found two prior felony enhancement paragraphs to be true. This automatically elevated his minimum punishment range to 25 years to life.
The jury ultimately sentenced McNeal to 25 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.