The accused ringleader of a high-level marijuana operation that was based out of a downtown State College pizza shop pleaded guilty yesterday to three counts of felony delivery of marijuana.
Mark Regopoulos, owner of Gopper's Pizza, 114 Hetzel St., was sentenced to nine to 23 1/2 months in Centre County Prison.
"We were pleased with the outcome of the case," said Centre County Assistant District Attorney Nathan Boob. "He's going to have felonies on his record for the rest of his life, and he's going to go to jail."
Regopoulos's attorney, Andrew Shubin, declined to comment yesterday.
On Aug. 31, the State College Police Department charged Regopoulos, three of his employees and two other people with selling marijuana from Gopper's Pizza.
Regopoulos was charged with six counts of delivery of marijuana, three counts of criminal use of a communication facility and three counts of possession of a controlled substance for selling marijuana from his establishment to a police informant on two separate occasions.
The plea was the latest in a series of pleas by individuals charged in the drug bust at Gopper's. The three employees charged -- Trevor Swope, 19, Kyle Grottini, 22, and Jared James Smith, 21 -- have also pleaded guilty to drug-related charges in recent months.
Swope, a Penn State student at the time, was charged with four counts of delivery of marijuana, one count of criminal use of communication facility and two counts of possession. In December, he pleaded guilty to one count of felony delivery of marijuana and received 90 days to one year in Centre County Prison.
Grottini, a Penn State graduate, was charged with four counts of delivery of marijuana and two counts of possession. He pleaded guilty to one count of felony delivery of marijuana and received three to 12 months in Centre County Prison.
Smith, charged with two counts of delivery, one count of criminal use of a communication facility and one count of possession, pleaded guilty to one count of felony delivery of marijuana and received 1 year of probation.
In addition to the three employees, police also charged another man, Quincy Carraway, in connection with the drug ring. Carraway is charged with three counts of criminal conspiracy and three counts of possession of a controlled substance. His case is still pending, according to the online court docket system.
Quincy Carraway is the brother of murder victim Langston Carraway, who was found stabbed to death in his residence in June 2006. Former Penn State football player LaVon Chisley was found guilty of first- and third-degree murder in the case and sentenced to life in prison. At the time of his death, Langston Carraway was facing a charge of possession of a small amount of marijuana, which was filed by the Penn State Police.
Police also charged Jessica Goins in connection with the drug operation, but charges against her were dropped because of insufficient evidence, her former defense attorney, Joseph Amendola, said in October.
In September, Regopoulos said he was planning to sell Gopper's Pizza, but the State College Borough Tax Office confirmed yesterday Regopoulos is still the owner of the pizza shop. Regopoulos could not be reached for comment as of press time yesterday.
