Lorena woman going to prison for hiding gun in backseat of deputy’s patrol vehicle during DWI arrest

LORENA, Texas (KWTX) - A Lorena woman with a history of alcohol abuse who hid a gun in the back seat of a deputy’s patrol vehicle was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday.

Sherre Lynn Johnston, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony driving while intoxicated and tampering with evidence Monday. As part of her plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed a burglary of a habitation charge that alleged she broke into the home of a friend following his death in March 2022.

Judge Susan Kelly of Waco’s 54th State District Court sentenced Johnston to eight years in prison on each of the three counts. Johnston, who also was arrested in an alleged break-in on McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara’s property in 2017, will serve the sentences concurrently. That charge was not pursued, according to court records.

Johnston, who has multiple convictions for drunken driving, must serve at least two years in prison before she can seek parole. She will be given credit for the 11 months she has been jailed, said her attorney, Jason P. Darling.

“Sherre is glad to get all her cases behind her,” Darling said. “She is looking forward to continuing to work on her sobriety and her therapy with her PTSD. She is glad the burglary case was dismissed. She always maintained her innocence on that charge.”

The burglary charge stemmed from Johnston’s arrest after it was reported that she broke into the home of the late Truman Simons, a retired Waco police officer, former McLennan County Sheriff’s captain and a friend of Johnston’s.

She was charged with tampering with evidence after deputies found a pistol under the seat of a patrol vehicle that Johnston stashed after shedding her handcuffs and waist chain she was wearing on her ride to jail.

Johnston also was charged with having a prohibited substance in a correctional facility in 2018 after she was caught with Alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, in the jail. At the time, Johnston was serving a 180-day sentence on weekends after another DWI conviction.

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