Meth-trafficking trial set after two years of delays

GULFPORT -- An Arizona man is set for trial in a meth-trafficking case after numerous delays, including his failure to appear in court and his disappearance.

Xavier Terrazas, 29, is in custody pending trial on a court calender that starts Feb. 29.

He is accused of distributing crystal meth, or ice -- meth in its purest form -- in Harrison County and elsewhere from at least September 2012 until his July 23, 2013, indictment.

He faces a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth.

Terrazas was arrested in Arizona in March 2014 and taken before a federal judge in Phoenix, where he was released on his own recognizance pending a court appearance in Gulfport. He was allowed to remain free after his arraignment the following month.

Court records show he asked to be excused from hearing a motion hearing Dec. 29, 2014, and was scheduled to change his plea Dec. 30, 2014, but did not show up. A public defender's court filing said he had been in a motorcycle accident was hospitalized for nearly two weeks just before the hearing.

On Feb. 10, he asked that the plea hearing be cancelled so his charge could be resolved in a federal court in Phoenix. The case was sent back to Gulfport for prosecution after a court filing Sept. 30 said his whereabouts in Arizona was unknown.

He was arrested on a bench warrant and brought to court in Gulfport on Jan. 13.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Meth-trafficking trial set after two years of delays ."