New Details Emerge in Kenosha County Vaping Case

Sept. 16, 2019 4:15p

(WGTD)---Tyler Huffhines and his brother Jacob were formally charged in Kenosha Court Monday in connection with the recent bust that netted thousands of vaping cartridges and jars of the THC distillate used to fill them.  

Many details of the large-scale operation which took place in a Bristol condo were revealed last week during a bond hearing and a subsequent news conference held by Kenosha County Sheriff Dave Beth. But there was some new information contained in Monday's criminal complaint:

*Investigators relied on information from a confidential informant who had inside knowledge of the operation.

*Tyler purchased a man's identity and used his name to rent the condo. The sales agent was the brothers' mother who denied knowledge of the scheme.  

*Tyler traveled first class to California with a suitcase full of cash---$300,000--to buy distillate. 

*Huffhines posted photos and video of his criminal enterprise on social media. 

A court commissioner Monday refused to lower Tyler Huffhines' bond of $500,000, despite a plea from his attorney, Mark Richards, who said the allegations were overblown. "The fact is my client got caught with a substantial amount of marijuana," he said. "He did not get caught killing someone. He did not get caught harming someone. But that's what they want you to believe.'

Richards said there's no proof that THC-filled vaping cartridges were responsible for the six reported vaping deaths nationally. 

In arguing to maintain bond, Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Lesli Boese said: "This is an individual who on his own created a substantial criminal enterprise and he was making a lot of money."

Boese is handling the case because the investigation began with a complaint that had been filed by a couple of parents in Waukesha. 

Bond for Jacob on lesser charges was set at $50,000, even though he's currently being held on a probation hold. Jacob has prior drug convictions. 

Tyler was described as the ringleader. 

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