Texas Teen No Longer Facing Life in Prison for Pot Brownies - but He Could Still Get 20 Years
Lavoro indicted on 2nd-degree felony for possession of THC, state felony for pot possession
Lavoro indicted on 2nd-degree felony for possession of THC, state felony for pot possession
| Jacob Lavoro |
SOURCE: www.rawstory.com
AUTHOR: Travis Gettys
A Texas man is no longer facing a life term in prison for pot brownies after prosecutors decided the case wasn't worth the effort.
Jacob Lavoro was charged with a first-degree felony because, under Texas law, the sugar, flour, and other baking ingredients used to make the brownies could be considered with the weight of the hash oil.
Police say Lavoro admitted he planned to sell the brownies to friends for $25.
The penalty for that charge was a five-year to life sentence, and the 19-year-old Lavoro's case received national attention on websites across the political spectrum.
The district attorney in Williamson County decided not to pursue the first-degree felony case, and a grand jury indicted Lavoro last week on a second-degree felony charge for possession of THC and a state felony charge for possession of marijuana.
"We figured that would be a simpler, more straight-forward case," said District Attorney Mark Brunner. "We wouldn't get lost in the weeds of arguing about the adulterants and dilutants, even though the law allows us to make that argument."
Brunner said the brownies contained THC from hash oil, but the concentration of the drug had not been determined.
If he's convicted of the lesser charges, Lavoro could still be sentenced to probation or a maximum 20-year prison term.
Lavoro turned down a plea deal in June that would have allowed him to avoid jail time, but his attorney did not want him to plead guilty to a felony charge.
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