Springboro drug case built on traffic stops
Springboro woman, 15-year-old son face multiple charges.
A teacher and her son both face criminal charges, including possession, drug trafficking and permitting drug use.
The case against Springboro teacher Amy Panzeca and her 15-year-old son was built by police stopping cars that had been to their Settlers Walk home, according to court documents.
The earliest such stop mentioned in the search warrant affidavit was an April 1, 2017, incident in which a driver of a vehicle admitted buying 10 hits of suspected LSD at the Panzeca house.
“The defendant stated that (Panzeca’s son) will often host parties at his residence,” according to a search warrant affidavit written by a Warren County Drug Task Force detective. “At these parties, multiple juveniles will come over and use LSD, marijuana and alcohol in the basement of 40 Christman Dr.”
Panzeca, 48, and her son both face criminal charges, him for possession and drug trafficking and her for permitting drug use, endangering children and contributing to the unruliness of a minor. They both have court appearances scheduled for late August.
On May 16, Springboro police received another complaint of drug trafficking, with a person saying that within a two-hour period, about 12 cars pulled into the driveway and a “tall lanky kid” walked out to cars for a hand-tohand transaction and then the vehicles would drive off.
“It’s not unusual for us to have a juvenile trafficking case,” said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell. “I think the scope of this — at least the information we have at this point in time — as far as it being 20 to 30 students, obviously is substantial in comparison to other situations where it might only be a handful of students.”
At 11 p.m. May 16, a detective saw two males exit the home carrying backpacks. Police stopped their vehicle, and the driver was arrested for possession of tramadol, methylphenidate and marijuana.
The other person was in possession of seven small containers of marijuana packaged for sale. The driver said he was leaving a party from Christman Drive and that he bought the marijuana for $20 from his friend.
On May 19, sources told law enforcement a party was going to happen that night. That same day, Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel Oda II signed a search warrant for the Christman Drive residence.
The search warrant was executed at 9 p.m. May 19, and six people were found inside the residence. Three of the people listed are among the juveniles Panzeca’s son is supposed to avoid during his case.
The detective wrote in the affidavit that text messages showed Panzeca was complicit with subjects using drugs in her home.
“Twenty to 30, that is on the higher-end scale in terms of the cases that I’ve handled as far as a juvenile trafficker,” said Fornshell, who said he expects charges against others. “Even an adult trafficker, I mean 20 to 30 ... most drug traffickers try to keep their exposure down, they’re not dealing to everybody.”
Panzeca, and her son were apprehended Monday evening.
Panzeca pleaded not guilty in Warren County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday and was released from Warren County Jail on her own recognizance.
The boy denied the charges and is being held in the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center.