A 28-year-old drug salesman, who claimed to earn $9,000 a month, was sentenced to probation Tuesday in a plea agreement which left a judge questioning the leniency for such a major offender.
Judge Dave Gamble followed the plea agreement and sentenced Sean Thorpe to five years in prison, suspended, and placed him on five years probation.
On Monday, Thorpe received a similar sentence in Carson City in exchange for cooperating with law enforcement officers.
"This case makes me extremely uncomfortable," Gamble said. "We have half the sworn officers in Douglas County and Carson City arranging buys for Mr. Thorpe's arrest. He's probably one of the major marijuana suppliers in the area. We know he can get (hallucinogenic) mushrooms and MDMA (Ecstasy). He's selling one-half-pound of marijuana a week. Why are we doing this?
"Finally - one time in a blue moon - we have someone half-way up the food chain. If I was one of the officers on the street-enforcement teams and they went through everything they went through and this guy gets probation, I would wonder why I was doing what I was doing," Gamble said.
Lawyer Tod Young said Thorpe stopped using drugs and "gave up everyone he knew."
"He got arrested, spent three months in jail and disassociated himself from everyone in the drug lifestyle," Young said.
Young said Thorpe told officers in Carson City and Douglas County when and where to find dealers, what kind of cars they drove, and what their houses looked like.
"He went out and did everything they asked him to do to make amends for his behavior," Young said. "I don't think the end of his criminality is fruitless."
Young said law enforcement in Carson City said Thorpe was one of the "best cooperators" they had seen in the number of buys he facilitated including heroin.
Young said the Carson City District Attorney's Office also recommended probation for Thorpe.
"The idea that for some unknown period of time, the half-pound of marijuana that I see being used by those who come in front of me every day, came from him," Gamble said. "I just hope Mr. Thorpe understands what he has done to those people."
Prosecutor Tom Gregory said he agreed with Gamble's philosophical concerns, but told the judge Thorpe wouldn't have been arrested without an informant working off their own case.
"We can debate whether it's a good result, but that's the system. Officers get frustrated when they (offenders) get probation, but they understand they need them to do their jobs," Gregory said.
He asked that Thorpe's probation be consecutive to his Carson City probation.
"He sold drugs in our community; he hurt people in our community," Gregory said.
Thorpe told Gamble he looked at the way he was living and realized he made a mistake.
"I messed up bad," Thorpe said. "I took the wrong road."
At his May court appearance, Thorpe addressed a visiting class of high school students about his criminal lifestyle.
"I never want to see any of those kids in this situation," the defendant said Tuesday.
"You understand, sir, half of those kids are your customers," Gamble said.
"I hope they see this is what happened to the guy above them," Thorpe said. "I want to go back to school. I want to get my degree."
Thorpe said he wanted to pursue a computer science degree.
"I'm kind of angry at myself that it took me this long to get motivated to do something," Thorpe said. "I don't want to be a giant screw-up."
Gamble sentenced Thorpe to five years in Nevada State Prison, with 19 months minimum before he is eligible for parole. Gamble suspended the sentence and placed him on five years probation.
Thorpe pleaded guilty to sales of a controlled substance.
He must perform 40 hours of community service in addition to the 40 hours he has to serve in Carson City.
Thorpe must abstain from drugs and alcohol and stay out of bars and casinos during probation. He is to undergo substance abuse evaluation and recommended treatment.
"I've heard you, I heard you with the kids. I want to honor that," Gamble said. "If I see you again for probation violation, bring your toothbrush, you're going to prison."
Thorpe, of Carson City, was arrested in October after he delivered 1-3/4 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $18,000.
He was accused of making five sales between Sept. 4 and Oct. 1
Simultaneous with Thorpe's arrest in Douglas County, Tri-Net agents searched his home in the 1500 block of Camille Drive in Carson City.
Agents seized an additional 1-1/2 pounds of marijuana, 40 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, two Ecstasy pills, $3,500 in suspected drug proceeds and a rifle.
He faced up to six years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
