A local businessman caught in a gambling and drug sting will serve one month in jail while his son, who fled the scene of the raid, will serve no jail time.
The businessman, Billy Wayne Turner, 56, reported to jail last week to begin service of his 30-day sentence on charges of possession of marijuana. He will be on probation for two years once he is released from jail and must pay $2,000 plus court costs.
His son, Joshua Turner, 23, was granted a two-year judicial diversion and must pay $2,000 plus costs for possession of marijuana. He can have his record erased if he avoids any more trouble during his two years on probation.
The men were arrested after an agent of the sheriff’s department sold them 15 pounds of marijuana. They paid the undercover agent $7,500 with lawmen moving in after the sale to arrest them.
Investigators say there was evidence drugs were being dealt out of their pool hall on Cadillac Lane called Billy’s Break and Rack, prompting the reverse sting operation. A closer look at the poker machines inside the business revealed there were reset buttons on the back which allowed them to be used for gambling purposes. However, gambling charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.
The sentences were the result of plea bargains negotiated through a special prosecutor as the office of District Attorney General Lisa Zavogiannis was recused because the wife of the Billy Wayne Turner and mother of the younger Turner was an employee of the district attorney’s office at the time of the busts. She has since left employment with the DA’s office.