Lechtenberger was so astounded by the discovery of the fabricated text messages that when the Assistant U.S. Attorney ("AUSA") approached Andy with a plea bargain, he insisted Andy not accept because they had no evidence. Accompanied by his lawyer's  advice and the actuality of non-existent proof, Andy boldly declined. Unbeknownst to him, this would prove to be a mistake. If he had taken the deal, the maximum he could have received would be ten years.  But, he knew he was innocent, so he opted to take the case to trial and risk it all.

   

The Federal legal system is evidently not one based on proving guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. It is a system that castigates you for exercising your legal right to a fair trial. Due to this misapplication of power, approximately 95% of people indicted for a crime accept a plea bargain and out of the other 5% who do opt for a trial, only about 2% will win. Those who do not accept the deceptively gracious hand of the government and choose to exercise their right are sentenced to approximately triple the time they were offered on the plea.

   

Guilt and innocence are non-factors and because Andy chose to exert his legal rights therefore, "wasting the government's time" and he was sentenced to thirty years as opposed to ten while never having committed a crime to begin with.

    

Lechtenberger remained unbending on the particulars of Andy's innocence and proceeded accordingly.  They scheduled an appointment to recover Andy's tax accounting boxes. That was one curious day. Boxes containing his tax records had been confiscated by the IRS concerning the allegations of money laundering. Agent De la Santos had dredged through the records and found absolutely nothing that would indicate any form of money laundering had occurred.

​

Andy's businesses required him to pay his taxes on time to the penny. Even in the midst of this whirlwind of allegations he found a way to pay his taxes on schedule. Lechtenberger said that the records were being held at the DEA's office and when they arrived the ambiance seemed quite odd. They were summoned to a conference room and once there Agent De la Santos entered and confirmed that he had reviewed and was releasing the records and smartly exited.

​

Shortly thereafter, AUSA Schattman entered accompanied by three DEA agents. Schattman paused, re-gathered himself and again in a reserved manner asked to speak with him in private once again saying that he had a witness statement he needed to see. Lechtenbeger replied even harsher this time, "Well it doesn't have anything to do with my client, so I don't give a shit," to which Schattman said, "Yesi It does and you really should come with me." They then exited the conference room leaving Andy and the other three DEA agents behind.

​

After approximately thirty minutes, Lechtenberger returned and his demeanor, even his complexion had vanished. He came with his shoulders slumped, his chest concaved, his head down, bearing a ghostly complexion and resembling a man whom was given a glimpse of his future quietus with a gamble of reprieve.

​

Their ride home was eerily tranquil. Andy probed Lechtenberger as to what the statement said and to what had just happened. He quietly responded, "I can't talk about it, but it doesn't have anything to do with you." That was the end of the conversation and those mysterious thirty minutes would serve as the end of whatever chance Andy may have ever had.

    

The time for the trial was now upon them.  They should have no problem disproving the government's evidence and thus dismiss the indictments. All that stood in their way now was to present those findings to judge and jury and be exonerated of those malicious allegations. But, there in lay an unsalable obstacle: U.S. District Judge John McBryde.

​The morning of the trial Lechtenberger and Andy met in the hallway outside of the courtroom as is customary for an attorney with a client on bond. What is not ordinary; however, is for the lawyer not the client to be possessed by uncontrollable fear. He vomited three times before entering the courtroom. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and his complexion was once again ghostly. "What's wrong?" Andy asked. "This judge is famous for putting attorneys in jail."

That was correct to an extent because in 2010, McBryde opened disciplinary and sanction proceedings against three attorneys: Long, Silverman, and Cleveland. McBryde claimed they "questioned his integrity" in a Federal trade secrets lawsuit and then also appointed himself to decide whether the men should be sanctioned. The case made the Fort Worth Star Telegram. 

​The subsequent court proceedings proved to be a farce conducted simply for the purpose of checking a metaphorical box. To start with, approximately two thirds of the jury was either law enforcement or related to law enforcement in some capacity and were in no way Andy's peers. Then, Judge McBryde granted counsel only a two minute opening and a four minute closing argument in a trial lasting three days and containing hundreds of items of evidence.

In an unbelieveable lack of preparedness, Lechtenberger failed to acquire the cell phone records from AT&T containing the certified text messages that he had sent and received. Out of eighty-nine cell phone text messages that the AUSA offered for evidence, forty-nine were fake. But, without the certified records, what was presented was treated as valid, be it false or not.

The trial was orchestrated for failure before it had begun. Andy was not only found guilty of "conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamines" he was guilty of "money laundering" as well. McBryde then briskly sentenced Andy to thirty years in prison on each count for first time convictions of crimes he did not commit.