THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012
CRIME
PAGE 7
Teenage drug dealer sentenced to prison
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEBANON, Ohio — A teenager convicted of selling up to $20,000 worth of high-grade marijuana a month to high school students in southwestern Ohio was sentenced Monday to serve six months to three years in a juvenile prison by a judge who called him "a pretty fine young person that went down a bad trail."
Tyler Pagenstecher, 18, center, listens in juvenile court on Monday in Lebanon, Ohio, as a judge sentences him to a minimum of six months in a juvenile jail stemming from his conviction on drug-trafficking charges.
"He's not going home today," Judge Thomas Lipps said, explaining that the charges against Pagenstecher were too serious for him to avoid prison time.
Tyler Pagenstecher of Mason was taken into custody immediately after the hearing and will be turned over to Ohio's Department of Youth Services. The agency ultimately will decide how long the 18-year-old Pagenstecher will be in prison, depending on his behavior.
The Associated Press is naming Pagenstecher because of the seriousness of the crimes and because teen's identity quickly
ASSOCIATED PRESS
name public following the announcement of the charges against him when he was 17. "He wasn't out to become, you know, a big drug dealer. He didn't buy a new car."
Authorities say Pagensteacher was one of the most prolific drug dealers in the
His mother, Daffney Pagenstecher, also spoke to the judge, saying her son "just thought he was using a recreational drug and selling it to his friends, and that was it."
In court Monday, Pagenstecher stood up and apologized, saying that he didn't realize the severity of his actions.
"He wasn't out to become, you know, a big drug dealer," she said. "He didn't buy a new car. He didn't buy fancy clothes. He wasn't making the money that a drug dealer would make and flaunting it."
"I understood that I would get in trouble but not to the level or extent this has become, and I sincerely regret all of this," said the pale, bespectacled, soft-spoken teen. "If I could take it all back, I would."
The 50-year-old school bus driver said she had no idea what her son had been up to before his arrest.
Lipps expressed incredulity that Tyler Pagenstecher didn't
Cincinnati area, a "little czar" in charge of six teenage lieutenants who helped him sell the marijuana to well-to-do students at two high schools.
DAFFNEY PAGENSTECHER
Tyler Pagenstecher's mother
Authorities believe Pagenstecher began selling the drugs when he was at least 15 and managed to stay under authorities' radar for a long time by not selling pot at school, but largely out of his home, where he lived with his single mother and older brother.
understand the seriousness of what he was doing and said all parents would want to see the person responsible for selling their child drugs to be punished,
regardless of age.
going to be in there until his 21st birthday — I hope that sends a strong message"
He said he did take into consideration the fact that Pagenstecher wasn't violent, didn't have weapons, was a good student, finished a drug-abuse program and got a job at an Italian restaurant.
"You know, I think you're probably a pretty fine young person that went down a bad trail here," Lipps told Pagenstecher. "I do think there's hope for you in the future."
After the sentencing, prosecutor David Fornshell said he hopes the case sends a message to other young adults.
"I think that probably when people originally heard this story they thought this guy was a hero or a rock star" Forsnell said. "I think any juvenile who would come in here today and see somebody go through what this juvenile went through today, and the fact that (if) he doesn't cooperate in the Department of Youth Services, he's
In addition to Pagenstecher, seven adults ages 20 to 58 were arrested in connection with the drug ring. They were accused of
He said that he expects Pagenstecher to be imprisoned in a juvenile facility that will include drug rehabilitation and education, considering he was just three classes away from graduating from high school.
growing the pot under artificial lights in a furniture warehouse and two suburban homes.
Four of the adults have pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and possession, marijuana cultivation and engaging in corrupt activity. They are set for trial in November and December.
The other four have pleaded guilty to some of the charges, with most still awaiting sentencing. One of them, 31-year-old Stacy Lampe, has been sentenced to two years in
prison.
HAZING
As part of its investigation of the drug ring, the Warren County Drug Task Force seized more than 600 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $3 million.
First defendant sentenced for Fla. hazing death
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. — The first of a dozen defendants to be sentenced in last year's hazing death of a Florida A&M drum major avoided jail time when he received his punishment Monday, but he will spend more than two years under close supervision.
Brian Jones was given six months of community control, which strictly limits his freedom with measures including frequent check-ins with probation officials. Following that, the 23-year-old from Parrish, Fla., will serve another two years of probation. He's also required to perform 200 hours of community service.
Judge Marc Lubet said Jones' role in the hazing death of Robert Champion was relatively minimal and that Jones did not beat or hit Champion. Champion died last November after being beaten by fellow band members during a
nazing ritual aboard a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel after a football game.
"This young man's part in this horrible act ... as compared with many others from what I've seen is minimal," Lubet said. "It was an isolated incident in this man's life for which he's shown remorse."
Defense attorney Alisia Adamson noted that only two of the 90 witnesses even said he was on the bus.
Eleven other band members are awaiting trial on felony hazing charges, while another band member faces a misdemeanor hazing count.
Jones had entered a no-contest plea Oct. 9 to the third-degree felony hazing charge after initially pleading not guilty. The maximum penalty for the charge was five years in prison.
Champion's parents and friends say the drum major was a vocal opponent of hazing, but finally relented last November and got
aboard "Bus C" which was known for hazing.
Pam and Robert Champion Sr. both attended Monday's sentencing.
Speaking directly to Jones, Pam Champion challenged the idea that his role had been minor, saying: "You and I know that's not true. You played a critical role."
She carried a picture of Champion with her to the podium before she spoke.
Jones said in a recorded audio statement with investigators that he was on the bus when another hazing victim — Lissette Sanchez — went through the ritual. But Jones told police that he only retrieved his lighter and left to smoke, getting off the bus before Champion got on.
"You won't be able to put it out of your mind...It will haunt you," she told Jones.
The defendant's mother, Jacqueline Jones, told the court that her son was an honest person and that "he shared with me he had
nothing to do with it."
Brian Jones tearfully apologized to the Champion family in court.
"No family should have to go through what you've gone through," he said.
After the sentencing, Pam Champion said she gave Jones credit for "taking responsibility" in the case.
"Initially my reaction was disappointment, but I do understand," she said. "The mere fact that Brian stepped up and took the initiative, which should be what everyone does ... is basically what we're looking for. For the whole thing is people being accountable for what they have done."
She also said she'd be open to him speaking about his experience
as part of the Robert D. Champion Drum Major for Change Foundation that she started last year to fight hazing.
"I do respect the law, I don't always agree with it," Robert Champion Sr. said. "But Mr. Jones did step up. The law made the charges and I agree with it if they savit was right."
Champion was seeking the top position in the famed marching band, leading dozens who had already endured the hazing ritual. The Marching 100 has performed at Super Bowls and presidential inauguration parades, and some felt the leadership position had to be earned.
What awaited him was a punishing scrum in which about
15 people pushed, struck, kicked and grabbed at participants as they tried to wade down the aisle from the bus's driver seat to touch the back wall, according to interviews with investigators. One witness said bigger band members waited at the back to make the final few steps the most difficult during the "crossing over" portion of the hazing process.
Several others who went through it said the ordeal leaves participants dizzy and breathless at a minimum. After finishing the ordeal, Champion vomited and complained of trouble breathing. He soon fell unconscious and couldn't be revived.
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