By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 34-year-old Montevallo man will spend the next three years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine in Alabaster in 2015, after he was sentenced during an Oct. 27 hearing.

Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Corey Moore originally sentenced Brandon Lee Hendrix, who lists an address on Shelby County 881 in Montevallo, to 20 years in prison, but split the sentence to three years in prison followed by two years of supervised probation.

If Hendrix violates his probation, his entire 20-year sentence could be reinstated. He received 209 days of jail credit for time he has already served in the Shelby County Jail.

While incarcerated, he must complete a substance abuse treatment program, and he must surrender his driver’s license after he is released from prison.

Hendrix has been in the Shelby County Jail since Aug. 5, when his bond was revoked after he was arrested in June on charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

When he was arrested on June 1, Hendrix was out of jail awaiting sentencing on a methamphetamine trafficking charge he pleaded guilty to on March 24.

In March, District Court Judge Daniel Crowson accepted Hendrix’ guilty plea, and set Hendrix’ sentencing for a later date. Hendrix was released from custody pending his sentencing date.

In the meth trafficking case, the Task Force arrested Hendrix on Nov. 21, 2015, and charged him with the crime. The arrest came as the result of a Task Force investigation involving Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Alabaster Police Department patrol officers and investigators, according to Task Force Commander Lt. Clay Hammac.

Hammac said the trafficking charge came when law enforcement officers intercepted Hendrix on Alabama 119 in Alabaster after learning he would be traveling through Shelby County to deliver methamphetamine for distribution.

After initiating a traffic stop on Hendrix’ vehicle, Hammac said officers found 63 grams of methamphetamine inside.