No jail time for Ridin’ High owners on selling marijuana felony

“Big John” Van Hazinga was sentenced to five years probation Friday in Burlington federal court for illegally selling marijuana out of the Ridin’ High skateboard shop, which he co-owns with his significant other, Samantha Steady.

Steady was sentenced to two years probation.

Van Hazinga and Steady agreed to plea deals in March for the charges. Under the agreements, Van Hazinga pleaded guilty to a felony count of distributing marijuana, for which he faced up to five years in prison, and Steady pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession, for which she faced up to a year in prison.

The pair appeared in court in consecutive sentencing hearings Friday. At both hearings, the defendants received a harsher sentence than what the government was requesting, though neither party received jail time.

At Van Hazinga’s hearing, Judge Christina Reiss highlighted a number of factors she was taking into consideration in her sentencing decision. She noted that Van Hazinga’s extensive record put him in the highest criminal history category under federal sentencing guidelines. 

She also noted that despite the fact that Van Hazinga committed the offense partly because of his philosophical beliefs in favor of marijuana legalization, his actions would be illegal under both federal and state laws. She said both the volume and method of Van Hazinga’s distribution puts his crime far outside the bounds of what is allowed under Vermont’s 2018 law legalizing the use of marijuana.

Reiss also acknowledged that despite the drug’s illegality, it is not an incredibly harmful or dangerous substance, and no one was seriously injured as a result of Van Hazinga’s crimes.

She said in the eight months Van Hazinga recently spent in jail, he got into fights on two separate occasions. However, she noted that in the brief two-month period following his release, he has had extremely good behavior, and has remained sober.

Reiss said given Van Hazinga’s lung problems from years of smoking, and mental health struggles following a traumatic brain injury several years ago, incarcerating him during the Covid-19 pandemic would put him at heightened risk of serious illness and possibly death.

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Van Hazinga’s lawyer, Paul Volk, stressed those mitigating factors, and spoke to Reiss about how much Van Hazinga has changed over the last several months.

“If before, someone were to say to me, ‘Of all the clients over the last 34 years, who is the least likely to change their views on alcohol and substance use?’ I would have nominated John immediately,” Volk said. “But John has undergone a tremendous shift. He is a decidedly re-oriented person.”

Van Hazinga, wearing a cargo shorts, a short-sleeved shirt and tie, made a brief statement to Reiss during the hearing, speaking about how he is no longer using or interested in using alcohol and marijuana, that he is in AA, has a sponsor, and is regularly seeing both a couples counselor and a drug and alcohol counselor. He said a particular concern to him is improving his lung health.

“I’d rather be able to go hike a mountain than sit here coughing every 10 steps,” Van Hazinga said.

The prosecutor in the case, Jonathan Ophardt said Van Hazinga’s extensive criminal record shows that he clearly has a pattern of conduct, and that his last two months of good behavior isn’t necessarily a sign that he’s changed his life.

The sentencing guidelines called for Van Hazinga to receive between 30 and 37 months in prison, and Ophardt said he thought 30 months would be appropriate. However, he suggested if the court wasn’t interested in jail time, that Van Hazinga could be sentenced to probation, knowing that if he lapses, there can be a full resentencing, at which point Van Hazinga would more than likely face jail time.

The probation sentence available to the court was a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years. Ophardt said he didn’t necessarily think the maximum probation sentence would be appropriate, though Reiss ultimately ruled that is what Van Hazinga would receive.

“There’s more teeth in that than you think,” Reiss told Van Hazinga. Under the conditions of his probation, Van Hazinga must refrain from using controlled substances, submit to regular drug tests, and not commit any crimes.

“You’ve told me you’re going to change,” Reiss said. “Now you’re going to show me that. If you do, you get your freedom. And if you don’t, you know the consequences.”

Several hours later, at Steady’s hearing, Reiss acknowledged that the sentencing guidelines called for a one year probation period. However, she noted that in the past few weeks, Steady had diluted one drug test and failed another, which Reiss said concerned her greatly.

Earlier this year, Steady attributed failed drug tests to a switch from marijuana to CBD. At that point Reiss told her to stop using CBD, which Steady said she did. In court Friday, Steady said the more recent failed results were because of a hit she took on her birthday that she did not know contained THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. 

Steady’s lawyer, Timothy Fair, said Steady was going to be receiving regular blood tests going forward to determine exactly how much THC was in her system, and to ensure that number was on a downward trend, as it takes a significant amount of time for the substance to fully leave the body. Fair went on to ask Reiss to consider all the other conditions Steady had complied with in her sentencing, not just the one failed test.

“In every regard other than the failed test, Ms. Steady has adhered to the conditions of her release and continued to contribute to society,” Fair said.

Steady then spoke to Reiss directly, telling her she had struggled with marijuana use since she was 16, and that in the past several months, without using the substance, she has felt more motivated, clear-headed and productive than ever before. She said having Van Hazinga in prison this year was “extremely stressful” for her, now having to run the shop alone, but she managed to stay away from the harder drugs that have tempted her in the past.

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Steady said since Van Hazinga’s release, the couple have been living a much more calm and stable life. She said she looks forward to their future of sobriety.

Reiss told Steady that she had concerns about Steady’s lapses impacting Van Hazinga’s sobriety. She told Steady that if her sobriety wasn’t maintained, the court might have to impose a no-contact order between them. 

Lawyers for the government then spoke in favor of the suggested one-year probationary sentence, noting that drug and alcohol treatment would likely be helpful if included in that.

In her final decision, Reiss told Steady that the government had been “extremely lenient” in its charges against her, and that those didn’t necessarily reflect the severity of her situation. She said she very much doubts that Steady was telling the truth about her switch to CBD, or that her failed test could be attributed to one accidental hit of THC.

Reiss said that although marijuana is not a particularly dangerous drug, it worries her greatly that Steady is using substances to address the problems in her life, and it especially worries her that she could bring Van Hazinga down with her.

As such, Reiss imposed a sentence of two years probation, in addition to a $1,000 fine. 

“Good luck,” Reiss said. “We’re going to be watching you carefully and holding you accountable, but also, helping you succeed.”