Teen drug dealer Tyler Pagenstecher gets at least 6 months in juvenile prison

Tyler Pagenstecher, 18, center, listens in juvenile court Oct. 22, 2012, in Lebanon, Ohio, as a judge sentences him. Pagenstecher is flanked by his mother, 50-year-old Daffney Pagenstecher, and his attorney, Mike O'Neill. / AP Photo

Updated at 4:43 p.m. ET

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 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.

"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.

The Associated Press is naming Pagenstecher because of the seriousness of the crimes and because the teen's identity quickly became public following the announcement of the charges against him when he was 17.

Authorities say Pagenstecher was one of the most prolific drug dealers in the 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.

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.

On Jan. 12, authorities raided the house and confiscated pot, scales, a bong and a box of cash, CBS Cincinnati affiliate WKRC-TV reports. It was the first hint to neighbors that the quiet kid on the corner might be up to something.

"We just thought he has a lot of friends, until the police came, and then after that incident there wasn't anything going on, and we were hoping everything was straightened out," neighbor Earl Borgemenke told WKRC-TV.

In court Monday, Pagenstecher stood up and apologized, saying that he didn't realize the severity of his actions.

"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."

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."

"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."

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 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.

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," Fornshell 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 going to be in there until his 21st birthday — I hope that sends a strong message."

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.

In addition to Pagenstecher, seven adults ages 20 to 58 were arrested in connection with the drug ring. They were accused of 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.

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, or $5,000 a pound. Investigators also found $6,000 in cash in Pagenstecher's bedroom.

Task force Cmdr. John Burke has called Pagenstecher a "little czar" in the drug ring and said most of his customers were students at Mason High and Kings High, two highly ranked public schools about 20 miles outside Cincinnati.

[hindsightis2020]

Another example of "marijuana prohibition and America's criminal justice system" doing more harm than cannabis ever could do....

But, at least someone is profiting from the kids incarceration.

Welcome to American capitalism kid!!!!!

[ksmit2]

I have no beef with the plant in question. It should be legalized. But you don't convict a criminal of a crime while saying the guy is a "fine young person, etc'. I am sure that this nice young man will not mind forfeiting whatever earnings he made to charities of the courts choosing.

[bobishot123]

id lije to give that kid a job hes got gumption

[42042]

http://www.facebook.com/EFSDPCurrently there is very little drug prevention education in our schools, and what there is merely repeats earlier messages that often are no longer credible to high school students. Our youth need honest, respect and assistance when needed. We need school drug education programs delivered by health care professionals and qualified drug education teachers.

[nohater]

many accept pot and ask for it to be made legal. would like prostitution to be widely accepted and made legal too.

[alanna91]

I've never done anything illegal but I think if I was 15 and I was told I could sell pot for $20,000...I would do it.

[ljanycchar]

Why am I so not suprised at the responses from the neighbors, the place where he works,etc. such a sweet kid, never got into any trouble, does his job, could do no wrong......HE'S A COMMON, ORDINARY, RUN-OF-MILL DRUG DEALER FOR CHRIST SAKES. HE'S A BIG TIME WHEELIN'DEALIN' DEALER OF DRUGS TO YOUR CHILDREN.....and they only thing they can say is how fine and upstanding he was, how sweet and innocent and hard working he was? wouldn't hurt a fly, couldn't possibly be involved in such gutteral behavior. kids like don't do things like that........HE'S A DRUGA DEALER OF THE MAJOR DEALER KIND AND SHOULD BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY. Who is he kidding saying he didn't realize the magnitude...dude...it was in the millions???? he had the whole school buying from him. THOSE PARENTS SHOULD BE OUTRAGED.....NOT CONSOLING AND NURTURING.

[gbgentleman]

And where is your outrage against the local liquor/cigarette store that sells items much more dangerous than marijuana. Legalize and tax it.

[bobishot123]

dear gladys. as as neighbour of the Kvavits's i've has to put up with this kind of mean spirited behavior i used to get mad till i found out he was a mental patient .imagine getting angry over a plant .dont that beat all. let us say a prayer for our brotherljbabychair that his insanity will pass lol

[formerlyluvnut]

a judge told the teen he was "a pretty fine young person that went down a bad trail."
--------------------------------------

This "judge" is as much a punk as the kid. This is why it's called the CRIMINAL "justice" system.

[OnTheRoad01]

Six months to 3 years???? How many lives did he help destroy?

[formerlyluvnut]

Exactly BUT, the "judge" is dirty too. Obviously.

[gbgentleman]

With marijuana? Marijuana does less damage to a person than alcohol so how many lives has your local liquor store destroyed?

[MrsHippy]

Pot should be legalized. It is widely used, and is far less harmful than alcohol. We have so many societal problems which stem from alcohol use, yet we waste our resources on people smoking marijuana which is very benign compared to alcohol. We need to wise up as a nation!