He didn’t murder anyone, or rob a bank, but Texas teenager Jacob Lavoro could spend the rest of his life in prison. His crime? Baking and selling pot brownies.
Lavoro, a 19-year-old high school football player with an otherwise clean record, was arrested last month in Round Rock, Texas. Lavoro’s lawyer said the teen should be charged with misdemeanor drug possession, but prosecutors are pursuing felony drug distribution charges.
If convicted, his sentence could range from five years to life in prison.
“I was outraged,” said Jack Holmes, an attorney representing Lavoro, in a statement to KEYE TV. “I’ve been doing this 22 years as a lawyer and I’ve got 10 years as a police officer and I have never seen anything like this before.”
Why such a harsh sentence? It’s Lavoro’s baking method that has him in so much trouble. The teen used hash oil to make the brownies, which gives prosecutors the right to consider the whole weight of the brownie when calculating the amount of illegal drugs involved. The sugar, cocoa and butter levels count against Lavoro. (RELATED: Lawsuit: Cops found nothing in raid, so they PLANTED DRUGS to frame innocent woman)
“They’ve weighed the bake goods in this case, and they’ve made it a first degree felony when it ought to be a misdemeanor,” said Holmes.
Jacob Lavoro’s father, Joe Lavoro, is furious about the possibility of an extreme sentence.
“I’m sorry, I’m a law abiding citizen, I’m a conservative, I love my country, I’m a Vietnam veteran, but I’ll be damned, this is wrong,” said Joe Lavoro in a statement. “This is damn wrong.”
Lavoro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.