Felon gets 22 years in drug case

A convicted felon on community supervision was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison and five years of community supervision in federal court Monday.

Princewill Azuburike Tata, 37, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 262 months by United States District Court Judge David Counts, online court records indicate.

According to an Odessa Police Department report, officers noticed the driver of a GMC Sierra break several traffic laws on Oct. 19, 2021 and pulled the vehicle over.

Tata, the passenger in the vehicle, told the officers he was scared to die because he is black and they were white and asked them not to shoot him or confiscate the vehicle, the report stated.

Fearing Tata was about to flee, they handcuffed him. After a canine officer indicated there might be drugs in the vehicle, the officers searched it and found two bags of methamphetamine, one weighing 112.6 grams and the other 84.3 grams, the report stated. In addition, the officers found a stolen Walter handgun and magazine.

A search of Tata’s home in the 400 block of East Snyder Street turned up a German Makarov handgun, 16 grams of cocaine, 12.53 ounces of marijuana and a “large” amount of methamphetamine, according to the report.

A records search revealed Tata had been paroled from prison after serving 15 years and was scheduled to be on supervised release until September 2024, the report stated.

At that time Tata was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing/delivering of a controlled substance, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, tampering with physical evidence (by trying to hide the gun in the GMC), theft of a firearm, possession of marijuana, more than 4 ounces, less than 5 pounds, resisting arrest and criminal mischief.

According to the report, Tata kicked the door of an OPD interview room, causing a picture frame to break and fall and he also was uncooperative with jail staff.

Federal prosecutors later charged Tata with the crime he ultimately pleaded guilty to.