4-6-06 - A jury has handed down the stiffest penalty Grayson County has ever seen for a drug case and it is one that could have some lasting effects.

Thursday a jury handed down a verdict where a man was given two 99-year terms in prison for possessing and intending to make meth. 39-year old Brent Edward Carney was offered a 15-year sentence in a plea agreement and he chose to deny it, therefore receiving the harsh term from the jury.

Carney was arrested in 2005 at his home in Whitesboro after officers recognized a strong odor coming from his backyard. He had been previously convicted of felony burglary and had served time before and that is why the stiff sentence was handed down.

Though the sentence is 99 years, Carney is eligible for parole after 33 years and is likely to get it since this was a non-violent crime.