California Restaurant Owner Jailed for Selling Meth

Terrence "Terry" Wharton, owner of Terry’s Fine Dining in Magalia near Chico, California, was sentenced to four years in prison for drug possession with intent to sell. Wharton was on probation for a 2007 conviction of possession for sale of a controlled substance when he was again found to be in possession in June 2009.

Elizabeth De Alwis of the Paradise Post reported that in 2007, Wharton had large quantities of pills including Vicodin, hydrocodone (the generic name for Vicodin), several opium-based pills, and muscle relaxants. Deputy District Attorney Brent Redelsperger explained that they were prescription medications that are commonly abused.

Wharton was initially charged with five felonies and agreed to plead no contest to felony drug possession for sale. He was sentenced to three years probation, 180 days in jail, community service, and rehab, and he was ordered to pay fines and fees. However, this failed to teach him a lesson.

In June 2009, he was driving in front of a sheriff’s patrol car in Cchico when he braked hard and turned into the parking lot of a store. The officer had to brake hard to avoid collision, according to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

Officers found Wharton’s empty car in the parking lot and detained the defendant as he left a smoke shop. He was searched and found with four pills of hydrocodone. Inside the store, police found 56 grams of methamphetamine inside two balloons that were not there before Wharton entered, according to the store employee.

The employee said Wharton came in, grabbed two bulk boxes of re-sealable baggies, and left them there without buying them. The sealed balloons were found where Wharton had gotten the bulk boxes.

Wharton was charged with three felonies: possession of a controlled substance, selling a controlled substance, and possession for sale of a controlled substance, as well as violation of probation.

He agreed to a plea bargain and pleaded no contest to possession for sale. The other two felonies were dismissed. He was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison. “This time, he went away,” said Ramsey.