USA v. Collins

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION – Page 1
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
SHERMAN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
CHRISTOPHER MARTIN COLLINS (1)
§
§
§
§
§
CRIMINAL ACTION NO. 4:17-CR-00016-
ALM-BD
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Now before the court is the request for revocation of Defendant Christopher Martin
Collins’s (“Defendant”) supervised release. After the District Judge referred the matter to this court
for a report and recommendation, the court conducted a hearing on December 29, 2025, to
determine whether Defendant violated his supervised release. Defendant was represented by
Michael Pannitto. The Government was represented by Lesley Brooks.
Defendant was sentenced on October 24, 2017, before The Honorable Amos L. Mazzant,
III of the Eastern District of Texas after pleading guilty to the offense of Felon in Possession of a
Firearm, a Class C felony. This offense carried a statutory maximum imprisonment term of 10
years. The guideline imprisonment range, based on a total offense level of 17 and a criminal history
category of VI, was 51 to 63 months. Defendant was subsequently sentenced to 63 months
imprisonment followed by 3 years supervised release subject to the standard conditions of release,
plus special conditions to include financial disclosure, substance abuse testing and treatment, and
a $100 special assessment. On April 29, 2025, Defendant completed his period of imprisonment
and began service of the supervision term
On October 17, 2025, the United States Probation Officer executed a Petition for Warrant
or Summons for Offender Under Supervision (Dkt. #49, Sealed). The Petition asserts that
Defendant violated four (4) conditions of supervision, as follows: (1) Mandatory Condition
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Defendant must not commit another federal, state, or local crime; (2) Mandatory Condition
Defendant 	must 	not 	unlawfully 	possess 	a 	controlled 	substance; 	(3) 	Mandatory
Condition Defendant must refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance; and (4)
Standard Condition Defendant must not communicate or interact with someone he knows is
engaged in criminal activity. If Defendant knows someone has been convicted of a felony, he must
not knowingly communicate or interact with that person without first getting the permission of the
probation officer. (Dkt. #49 at pp. 1–3, Sealed).
The Petition alleges that Defendant committed the following acts: (1) & (2) On October 9,
2025, Defendant was involved in a traffic stop conducted by the Paris Police Department in Paris,
Texas, for failing to display a visible registration sticker on the vehicle’s windshield. Defendant
was identified as the driver and there was an adult female passenger in the front passenger seat.
During the stop, the officer detected a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle.
Defendant was instructed to exit the vehicle, and a probable cause search was initiated. During the
search of the vehicle, Defendant fled on foot but was apprehended a short time later and taken into
custody. A search of the vehicle revealed a black backpack located on the rear passenger seat
within reach of Defendant. Inside the backpack, officers located a large brown plastic sack
containing a substantial quantity of marijuana inside a clear zip-locked bag and a black plastic sack
containing multiple baggies of marijuana packaged in varying amounts. The amount of marijuana
totaled 13.485 ounces, exceeding the allowable personal-use amount. Also discovered in the
backpack was a clear Tupperware container holding several baggies of suspected narcotics, which
field-tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing approximately 22.48 grams; and another
clear plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine,
weighing approximately 14.07 grams. The probation officer reviewed body-worn camera footage
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from the arrest. During the recording, Defendant informed the police officers the backpack and its
contents did not belong to the passenger. Defendant was subsequently booked into Lamar County
Jail in Paris, Texas on the following charges:
- 	Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 > 4g < 200g
(Methamphetamine) 	in 	violation 	of 	Texas 	Health 	and 	Safety 	Code 	§
481.112(d), a First-Degree Felony.
- 	Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Penalty Group 1 > 4g < 200g
(Cocaine) in violation of Texas Health and Safety Code § 481.112(d), a First-
Degree Felony.
- 	Possession of Marijuana, More Than 4 Ounces but Less Than 5 Pounds, in
violation of Texas Health and Safety Code § 481.121(b), a State Jail Felony.
- 	Evading Arrest/Detention with Previous Conviction in violation of Texas Penal
Code § 38.04(b)(1), a State Jail Felony.
On October 14, 2025, Defendant was released from custody after posting surety bonds in the
amounts of $15,000, $15,000, $3,000, and $3,000, respectively. On October 16, 2025, the Lamar
County District Court was contacted regarding the status of the pending charges. Court personnel
advised all four charges are currently being held in Lamar County Justice of the Peace Court. Upon
indictment, jurisdiction will transfer to their Court. They further reported the grand jury had
already convened for the current month and was scheduled to meet again on November 13, 2025.
As of the writing of the Petition, the cases were being tracked under temporary numbers W25-555,
W25-556, W25-557, and W25-558. A new case or docket number will be assigned once the
indictment process is completed; (3) On October 15, 2025, Defendant contacted his probation
officer by telephone to report his recent arrest and that Defendant had bonded out of the Lamar
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County Jail the previous night. During the conversation, Defendant verbally admitted to using
methamphetamine on the day of his arrest, October 9, 2025; and (4) On October 9, 2025, in Paris,
Texas, Defendant was the driver of a vehicle involved in a traffic stop with Theresa Davidson, a
convicted felon, as the passenger. Defendant stated that he and Ms. Davidson are good friends,
and Ms. Davidson stated she has known Defendant all of her life. Defendant did not have
permission from the U.S. Probation Office to have contact with this individual. (Dkt. #49 at pp. 1–
3, Sealed).
Prior to the Government putting on its case at the final revocation hearing, Defendant
entered a plea of true to allegation 3 in the Petition. Having considered the Petition and the plea of
true to allegation 3, the court finds that Defendant did violate his conditions of supervised release.
The Government moved to dismiss allegations 1, 2, and 4 in the Petition.
Defendant waived his right to allocute before the District Judge and his right to object to
the report and recommendation of this court.
RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, the court recommends that Defendant’s
supervised release be revoked and that he be committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to
be imprisoned for an additional term of twenty-two (22) months, to run consecutive to any sentence
imposed in the state cases pending in Lamar County, Texas, with no term of supervised release to
follow.
The court further recommends that allegations 1, 2, and 4, of the Petition be dismissed.
The court finally recommends that Defendant be housed in a Bureau of Prisons facility in
either Texarkana, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, or Big Springs, Texas, if appropriate.
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