18-year-old Tyler Pagenstecher of Mason, OH, who became the talk of the country over the summer when he was revealed as a "drug czar," was sentenced to six-months-to-three-years in a juvenile prison on Monday. The judge called Pagenstecher, who was selling up $20,000 worth of high-grade marijuana a month, a "pretty fine young person that went down a bad trail."
Despite his age, Pagenstecher was reportedly one of the most successful drug dealers in the Cincinnati area. He oversaw six lieutenants who helped him sell weed to students at two high schools. According to authorities, Pagenstecher began selling drugs at the age of 15, but managed to go undetected by selling out of his home rather than at school.
Back in January, police raided the home where he lived with his mother and older brother and removed marijuana, scales, a bong, and a box of money. Clueless neighbors just thought he "had a lot of friends." Once the police showed up, things became a little more clear.
His mother, a 50-year-old bus driver Daffney Pagenstecher, said she thought her son was using marijuana for recreational purposes and selling it to his friends. She said her son had no aspirations to be a "big drug dealer," and never flaunted the money that he made.
Seven adults between the ages of 20 to 58 were also arrested along with Pagenstecher and accused of growing marijuana in a furniture warehouse and two suburban homes. As part of the sting, the Warren County Drug Task Force removed over 600 marijuana plants worth an estimated $3 million. Also found in Pagenstecher's bedroom was $6,000 in cash.
In court, Pagenstecher apologized, saying he didn't understand the severity of his actions. The bespectacled teen said he would "take it all back" if possible. Because he was just three classes away from graduating high school, Pagenstecher will be imprisoned at a juvenile facility that offers drug rehabilitation and education.
This is a movie waiting to happen.
[via CBS News]
