Trapp has sentence cut in half for making meth near school
A man caught making meth across from Dibrell School saw his record sentence more than cut in half due to new rules governing how courts can sentence people caught with clandestine labs.
The defendant, Jerry Trapp, 26, was allowed to enter a new plea agreement, this time to manufacture of meth charges as a Class B felony. The new sentence brings Trapp eight years behind bars at 100 percent since he was charged for manufacturing in a school zone.
Prior to the new plea agreement, Trapp had been sentenced to 20 years in prison, making his term the longest local non-federal meth sentence ever handed down.
The sentence came after Trapp was caught manufacturing meth in a small block building in April 2003. The building is located across the street from Dibrell Elementary, about 200 yards from the front door of the school. Lawmen suspect he was producing the drug even during school hours.
However, the weight of the meth is what brought the lesser sentence recently under a precedent established by another local meth case.
In their recent ruling in the case of the state versus Kevin Magness, the Tennessee Court of Appeals held only marketable meth can be figured into the weight on which the charges are based. Trapp had originally been charged with manufacture of meth over 100 grams, making it a Class A felony.
It was found the concoction discovered at the Trapp lab contained other ingredients besides the finished meth. Manufacturing items such as brake cleaner often remain in the meth until the cooking stage is completed. The appeals court has ruled only the meth can be counted toward the weight of the drugs on which charges are based.
Magness, charged with a meth lab here, also saw his sentence cut in half due to the appellate court ruling. The case has changed the way lawmen base the weight before making charges. The Trapp case had been settled prior to the Magness appeal.
On the tube
Targeting the growing meth problem in Tennessee, Channel 2 News will air a town hall meeting Thursday to address the issue.
Taped last week on the campus of Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, the one-hour show will air at 8 p.m., Thursday on WKRN. Bob Mueller is the host.