Stretches of vast farm fields with their humble homesteads and clusters of trees flank either side of Highway 50, just off I-94 at about the halfway point between Chicago and Milwaukee. The chain of farms is only broken by the occasional golf course or subdivision of two-story houses that seem out of place next to the dull colors of the countryside. This is the area of southeastern Wisconsin located in the western half of Kenosha County that locals colloquially refer to as Westosha. After traveling a little over 10 minutes west, Highway 50 turns into 75th street. An easy-to-miss sign reads, “Welcome to Paddock Lake,” and is shortly followed by signs for Back Country Taxidermy and Paddock Lake Sports Guns Bait & Tackle.
One of the first places in the village of Paddock Lake that catches the eye is Old Settlers Park, which includes a spacious dog park and a scenic view of the lake. Soon 75th street becomes dotted with bars, restaurants, small businesses and a couple of gas stations. Glimpses of the lake can be seen through trees and between small houses until Westosha Central High School appears on the opposite side of the road, dwarfing every building around it. Like the subdivision and golf courses before it, the high school does little to blend in with its surroundings.
Westosha Central, which serves seven Westosha communities like Paddock Lake, Bristol and Salem, is where Tyler Huffhines played football and took business classes. It’s where he learned about supply and demand, and it’s where he developed his salesman skills buying and selling shoes while his brother, Jacob, was getting in trouble for marijuana possession. These were skills that police say both would later use for a lucrative yet illegal operation capitalizing on a newer trend: Vaping.
Selling things was long a family business. A few miles down the road, the brothers’ mother, Courtney Huffhines, worked as a realtor for two decades, putting ads in the newspaper and drawing attention with her flaming red business attire.
The village of roughly 3,200 residents began when three generations of the Paddock family journeyed from New York to Wisconsin in a covered wagon in 1838. Paddock Lake has grown since then, in part thanks to it being in the path of people traveling to Lake Geneva from Illinois, Kenosha and Milwaukee. But it retains its character as a small town with a friendly, close-knit community.
“You run into people that you know everywhere,” said Rebecca Lancour, who with her mother runs Westosha Floral, the ever-busy flower shop that has acted like the village’s revolving door since 1981. “A lot of people that are here have been here for a very long time. It’s a low-crime area, and everyone knows what’s going on everywhere.”
As the village’s name would suggest, the community is built around Paddock Lake, one of multiple lakes in the area and part of the village’s culture. Boats zoom across the lake during the summer, oftentimes pulling water skiers, wake boarders and kids in inner tubes. Swimming in and hiking around the lake are popular pastimes with residents of all ages, and residents look forward to festivals like Country Thunder. As soon as the lake freezes over, ice fishing shanties cover the ice. Every weekend, ice fishing derbies are held by bars like Drifters Bar & Grill, where upwards of 100 people cram into the modest-sized building. Some of the derbies are held to raise money for charities and community projects.
The area in and around Paddock Lake is perhaps the perfect spot for a drug operation. Even though it may be a low crime area, the small-town area with interstate traffic makes it a convenient yet inconspicuous location for pushing drugs to close by cities like Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine and Chicago. It’s an area where BMWs don’t stand out in towns full of pickup trucks because Chicago money finds its way here with regularity. It’s common for people to constantly travel to and from the towns right off the interstate.
Perhaps Tyler Huffhines recognized this when, according to Kenosha and Racine authorities, he started one of the largest illegal THC vape cartridge operations to ever be busted in the nation. Authorities claim that Tyler, 20, worked with his 23-year-old brother, 43-year-old mother and 10 other associates packaging thousands of vape cartridges from brands like Dank vapes and selling them all over Wisconsin. The criminal complaint says they were manufacturing between 4,000 and 5,000 cartridges per day at the height of the operation. When authorities executed a search warrant at the home where the brothers lived with their mother, they found $48,244 in cash in Tyler’s room and $11,191 in cash in Jacob’s. They seized some 98,000 unfilled vape cartridges at another residence.
The operation was based out of three different locations in Westosha: a condo in Bristol, the family’s home in the Village of Salem Lakes, and the mother’s realty office in Union Grove in Racine, authorities say.
“It’s the largest we’ve ever had,” said Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth in a press conference, referring to drug busts involving THC cartridges. “They found an operation that really is incredible.” In fact, Beth said it was believed to be the largest bust of its kind in the country.
Busted in September 2019, the operation comes in the wake of a growing trend in vaping in a beer-culture identified state where it’s common to see signs in convenience stores for both Miller Light and vaping devices like Juul but even medicinal marijuana remains illegal due to opposition from the Republican-controlled state Senate. After Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin linked lung illnesses in teens to vaping, there has been growing concern over vaping devices, with many pointing to THC cartridges made illegally, and health officials continue to warn against using THC vape devices.
“The majority of patients went on to develop severe breathing problems requiring hospitalization, and in some cases, had to be put on ventilators in order to breathe,” state officials say of the vaping crisis in Wisconsin, although there’s no indication the Huffhines’ vapes were linked to those cases. “Among patients who reported vaping THC, a wide variety of brand names and flavorings were reported. We urge the public to avoid vaping any THC products.”
As of December 26, 2019, 100 cases of severe lung disease among vapers were confirmed or probable with 8 more under investigation in Wisconsin.
Now the Westosha area around Paddock Lake is filled with mixed sentiments about Tyler. Some believe that he was a good kid who made a bad choice and that his skills could have gotten him far in life.
“It’s unfortunate; he is a good businessman, but he should have gone with something legal,” said Lancour. “He should have done something different because he is quite intelligent.”
Others are inclined to believe that the Huffhines’ alleged actions reflect their characters, and some say that they are getting what they deserved.
“I’m led to believe that they are not good people,” said Mike Laiacono, a Westosha local.
There’s some sentiment in town, though, that prosecutors are being overzealous by pursuing the extensive vaping ring so aggressively. Help-wanted signs are easy to find, but locals say that there’s not much for young adults to do around here that pays enough to survive. Businesses are only up for a year until they close down and another business opens up. Young adults could make $20 an hour filling vape cartridges for the Huffhines’ operation, authorities say, more than the $7.25 minimum wage in Wisconsin.
Former teachers and coaches were left wondering where it all went wrong. Approached in the high school hall where Tyler was once a well-known figure, some made passing remarks that Tyler was a great student with a bright future, although another made a sudden remark that he was “entitled.” One of his coaches said that he would only say good things about Tyler before deciding to not speak about him at all. “I loved the kid,” he said. “He did everything I asked and more.” The economics teacher didn’t return calls for comment. The better people knew the Huffhines, the more reluctant they were to talk about them.
At Westosha High, teens still get caught vaping because it’s so easily accessible and easy to get away with. They can charge their vapes on their laptops which makes it much more convenient for them to use them. There was a fire drill one day because a student blew a vape cloud. The school has constant assemblies on informing youth and parents on the dangers of vaping.
“No school can look you in the eyes and say that kids aren’t vaping,” said Superintendent John Gendron. “It’s happening.”
Jacob drew less attention, and people tend to overlook him in their comments. The less flashy brother, though, was the one who already had a history of less lucrative drug trafficking before, prosecutors say, the brothers built a vaping empire in one year’s time so large the New York Times recently asked whether they were the “Walter Whites of THC Oils.”
“These aren’t going to be the last guys that are going to be arrested for it,” said Rick Storbeck, who was a cop before owning R&R Pizza, the restaurant next to Courtney’s real estate office. As a former police officer, Storbeck said he would normally be able to see through people’s masks or facades, but he wasn’t able to see through Courtney’s.
“The two boys stood out more than she (their mother) did,” said former R&R bartender Donald Durkee. “Always wore matching track suits and had similar cars. Not twins, but y’know. I don’t know if I ever saw them in the same clothes twice. That’s what made them stand out. Everybody said they stood out.”
‘The Hustle Is His Lifestyle’
One could argue that it all started with a scheme to sell sneakers.
When he was a child, Tyler became interested in business from a young age, according to a positive Kenosha News article written about him in 2018 titled, “The Hustle Is His Lifestyle. Who wants to be a millionaire? Busy Westosha student already on his way.” He spent part of his childhood hiding behind furniture to listen to his mother’s business meetings and begging her to open his own bank account, and he eventually started selling sneakers in seventh grade, the article says.
When he went to high school at Westosha Central, he took leadership and economics classes. There he learned all about supply and demand and played on the high school’s football team as a wide receiver. One teammate said that although he didn’t talk much with Tyler, he seemed just like any other high schooler.
But unlike many 18-year-olds, Tyler had thousands of dollars in the bank and thousands invested in the stock market, with an uncanny ability to make a deal. The article describes how he also had a used car dealer license with dozens of cars for sale.
Tyler’s senior picture slogan in his yearbook was a quote from John 13:7: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Indeed, the criminal complaint says 2018 was the year Tyler started building his vaping enterprise.
He had other pursuits and once seemed like he might pursue a college career. Tyler went on to attend Carthage College and play for their football team. Tyler didn’t travel with the varsity team, and one teammate described him as no standout on the football field.
“He was just an average athlete I would say, nothing really impressive,” former Carthage teammate Nathan Ricken said. “Obviously could tell football wasn’t his main thing to focus on while at school.” He considered Tyler “annoying” and felt he seemed “troubled.”
During this time, Tyler eventually started to work at his mother’s real estate business with his brother, Jacob Huffhines. While many locals around Paddock Lake knew of Tyler, they tended to not mention Jacob, who is older than Tyler by 3 years. Jacob also went to Westosha, but unlike his brother, Jacob has a long list of past ordinance violations and misdemeanors involving marijuana, and one felony that involved dealing cocaine.
While his brother was absorbing the lessons of high school economics classes and building a shoe business, Jacob was getting in trouble for substance abuse issues; first drinking and pot possession, later cocaine. In March 2018, Jacob was accused of cocaine dealing and running a drug house (the second charge was read-in at sentencing). That made him a felon at age 22.
He received a stayed prison sentence with some probation and jail time. Two years before, he was convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. He was given a $100 fine and allowed to petition for expungement if he wanted. The year before, there was a forfeiture for marijuana and underage drinking.
In 2013, Jacob faced charges for intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which was dismissed, and marijuana possession, a charge to which he pleaded guilty. He was only 17.
But Tyler had no history of drug charges, and locals thought of him as a good kid. It would prove, perhaps, to be a disastrous synergy of knowledge as the brothers’ backgrounds eventually melded: Tyler’s business acumen with Jacob’s illegal drug activity. The criminal complaint, though, as with locals, talks more about Tyler than Jacob.
Tyler’s mother, Courtney Huffhines, was also known by many Westosha residents in and around Paddock Lake. Like her father before her, she became a real estate agent and built a presence in the community. Self-described as a dream achiever, chance taker and eternal optimist of life, Courtney projected the personality of a salesman. Although a local in the Westosha area, Courtney operated as a real estate broker and trainer of other real estate agents in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Walworth and Racine counties.
Her Instagram page was extremely active and full of pictures promoting her business and showing off her personal life, including family vacations of the boys on jet skis and nights out on the town at concerts and restaurants and trips to Country Thunder. Many of her photos featured Tyler and Jacob, such as her standing next to Tyler in his football uniform or all three of them posing in front of her realty office. Inspirational quotes appear all over her page, such as “Behind every successful woman is herself.” She often put her real estate ads up on Instagram, usually for modest-sized homes around Westosha and Racine.
“Realtor Broker Owner of Realty Executives Unity, Envisionary Coach, Mentor & Trainer, Dream Achiever, Chance Taker…Eternal Optimist of Life!” her profile reads. She was still posting as late as October 2019, this time a Biblical verse. “Don’t you dare give up! During the battle, the Lord will fight for you,” it reads.
In July, she shared a photo showing her with her two sons in front of a pool. “Huntington Beach family time with my boys ?” the caption reads. A June photo shows her in an American flag swimsuit top, with the caption, “Feels like summer! Got some paddle boarding in! And grilling up burgers ?. Love these perfect day on the lake. “
Friends flattered her on Instagram, with one writing on a picture of Courtney and Tyler: “Amazing Young Man has Grown Up, Amazing Mom and Business Woman!”
Like her oldest son, Courtney had her share of troubles, though, contrary to the happy image she painted on Instagram. In fact, in the crucial formative years of the boys’ upbringings, the family was under great financial and other stress.
In 2004, she filed for divorce from her husband and the boys’ father, who now lives in Illinois. In 2012, Courtney filed for bankruptcy after being unable to pay back personal loans, medical debts, credit card bills and fines incurred starting in 2004, according to federal court records. In 2018, she was taken to court by a local realtor after their real estate companies merged only a few months prior.
The bankruptcy petition for Courtney Dehnel Huffhines says that she had $50,143 in assets but $63,513 in liabilities. She listed her “current monthly income” as $2,300 but her average expenses as $3,185.
Joint savings accounts with her minor son had $980 and $200 in them each. She had $1,700 in a checking account and $2,000 worth of household goods. She alleged in the petition that she was owed $40,000 by a former business partner, describing that money as “uncollectible.” She also listed a “personal injury claim against former dentist.” She owned a $4,715 2003 Chrysler Town and Country car with her ex-husband.
Her debt included a personal loan, credit card debt, and some medical debt. She also listed “NSF checks.”
At that time, her sons were ages 15 and 12. She listed her job as “realtor” at ReMax Newport in Racine, and said she had been employed there for 14 years. Her expenses included $1,200 in mortgage payments. She was receiving child support.
Shortly before the family came on the authorities’ radar, though, things seemed to have rebounded.
In 2018, she opened a new Realty Executives branch in Union Grove in Racine, about a 15-minute drive north from Paddock Lake.
Realty Executives is located at 1023 Main St. in Union Grove, across the street from Coal Miner’s Bar where a faded plastic Pabst Blue Ribbon sign hangs above one door and a cardboard cutout of Miller Lite NASCAR drive Brad Keselowski stands in the threshold of the other. On one side of Realty Executives stands Callen’s Restaurant with a sign on the front that looks like it came straight out of Las Vegas in the 1950’s.
On the other side of the offices where THC vape cartridges were allegedly made is a small bar and pizza spot called the R&R Club.
Not only a pizza shop, but R&R is also a popular bar. It has a couple of billiards tables with red felt and its walls are lined with slot machines and other games. A blue Bud Light sign hangs over the top of one table. The shiny but scratched and weathered bar top wraps around nearly from the entrance of the bar to the back door.
A couple of the people sitting at the bar are using nicotine vapes and blowing large clouds towards the bartender. Above one of the vaping customers are several packs of Marlboro cigarettes for sale. The bar has nothing to do with the vaping enterprise. Rather, this is where Courtney could often be found, clad in business attire and a vodka club soda with one lemon and one lime in hand, either talking with real estate clients or coworkers.
“She presented a good picture,” said Rick Storbeck, owner of R&R Pizza.
The brothers would often be seen wearing matching tracksuits by R&R staff. Both Tyler and Jacob were working at Courtney’s new office, but Tyler was perhaps unsatisfied with the job and was ready to find something more exciting and lucrative.
Storbeck mentioned that Courtney painted a very good picture and that he felt like there was never anything else to assume about her. Storbeck said that he would always see her wearing nice dresses and always wearing business attire. He said she had the personality of a salesman. Storbeck also mentioned that he would see both Jacob and Tyler in matching tracksuits and driving around in very nice cars. Storbeck said that they would stick out a lot and said it felt like it was them saying, “Hello, I’m something.”
“I’m a businessman, and hustle is my lifestyle,” said Tyler, in the Kenosha News article. “I do see myself moving on to bigger things to make more money.”
But at the time, no one could imagine that Tyler moving on to bigger things would turn into allegedly running one of the largest illegal THC vape cartridge operations in the nation to ever be busted.
A Vaping Empire
On Sept. 16, 2018, Tyler Huffhines was charged by the state of Wisconsin with three counts of possession with intent to deliver over 10,000 grams of THC, one count of maintaining a drug trafficking place, and one count of identity theft for financial gain. Jacob Huffhines was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance. Then, on Oct. 1, Courtney Huffhines was charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place, identity theft as a party to a crime, maintain a drug trafficking place as a party to a crime, and possession with intent to deliver over 10,000 grams of THC as a party to a crime.
On September 5, the Kenosha Drug Operations Group executed search warrants at the Huffhines’ home in Paddock lake and a condo in Bristol rented by Tyler. This is what court records allege:
In Jacob’s room, officers found a loaded DPMS A15 rifle, .6 grams of cocaine in a clear plastic bag, 4.4 grams of marijuana along with a vape pen, cartridges, a digital scale and 9 Xanax pills and $11,191 in cash. A fully loaded .12 gauge pump action shotgun with one in the chamber and $48,244 was found in Tyler’s room. Around the house, detectives found nine rolls of vacuum bags and 17.5 grams of marijuana were found. Other items found around the house included 7 more firearms and court website paperwork with Jacob’s name.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this operation,” said Sheriff Beth.
At their condo in Bristol, which was rented under the name of a man living in Arizona, officers allegedly found 31,200 vape cartridges filled with one gram THC ready to be shipped out, 98,000 unfilled cartridges, 57 mason jars filled with THC oil roughly worth $6,000 each, 18 pounds of marijuana, three money counting machines. Empty packages of legal THC vape cartridges were also found, and Beth said that the Huffhines brothers would repackage their cartridges in them. The packaging states that the cartridges have roughly 5 milligrams of THC, but the cartridges made in Tyler’s operation contained 1,000 milligrams; 157 times the potency of what the label says.
“This packaging, they make it look like candy,” Beth said. “It’s not candy, it’s highly-potent drugs.”
Authorities say Tyler’s THC vape cartridge operation started on Jan. 16, 2018, almost three months before he posed for Kenosha News with his collection of colorful sneakers and an ear-to-ear smile. According to the criminal complaint, he told detectives that he remembers that exact date because he posted a picture on Instagram commemorating the start of his new business.
According to the complaint, Tyler said that he was never interested in using the drug himself. To him, it was about the money. He saw a rising demand for THC vape cartridges, just like he had once for shoes, so he started to purchase legally made THC vape cartridges from businesses in California to resell in Wisconsin. Authorities allege that he sold 100 cartridges at a time for $15 apiece and would make between $500 and $800 depending on various factors. All the money made by reselling cartridges was put back into creating a business where he could start filling them himself.
“You invest more, you make more,” Tyler told detectives, according to the criminal complaint. “No risk, no reward.”
The complaint further alleges: To maximize profits, Tyler started to purchase empty cartridges, packaging and distillate. The operation began in the back rooms of Courtney’s Reality Executive office in Union Grove. Tyler was still learning the manufacturing process and would often FaceTime his THC distillate dealer in California to walk him through any problems. For example, the criminal complaint states that Tyler was having problems putting on the caps to the cartridges until the dealer taught him to dip them into alcohol.
A confidential informant told police that Tyler was manufacturing THC cartridges and storing them at this residence (in Bristol). The CI indicated that he/she was at the condo during the first week of August, 2019, and he/she observed thousands of THC cartridges and THC buds stored in the condo. The brothers didn’t live in the Bristol condo; they were both living with their mother nearby.
Tyler was said to keep a Mossberg firearm at the Salem residence and to carry a Springfield XD semi-automatic pistol “with him at all times.” He was seen driving around town in a white BMW and Lexus.
The confidential informant gave cops Tyler’s Snapchat handle and they observed that Tyler had posted a new video on his Snapchat, “which included numerous boxes, totes, and garbage cans, full of THC cartridges.” That was on August 20, 2019.
The camera then panned to a desk which contained a money counter and a “substantially large stack of money,” the complaint says.
On or about August 28, 2019, authorities learned Tyler was flying to California to allegedly buy jars of THC distillate. He posted videos on Snapchat that showed him sitting in first class on an airplane, the complaint alleges.
Tyler stated that he started the THC vape cartridge business on January 28, 2018, a day he remembered because he took a picture of it on Instagram, according to the complaint.
He initially had 10 workers making $20 cash per hour to fill the cartridges but then found out that people worked harder if he changed it to 30 cents per cartridge.
The condo was rented in the name of a man in Las Vegas who said he knew nothing about it. Tyler stated that he did not know that man but “if you give some guys in California money, they will give you an envelope containing all of the legitimate person’s personalized information,” the complaint says.
He admitted to flying to California over Labor Day weekend with $300,000 in cash to “buy additional distillate,” according to prosecutors.
Another confidential informant told authorities they started making THC vape cartridges at Courtney’s realty office in Union Grove in mid July 2019. The work took place in the back room of her work office. This informant alleged that Courtney knew the Bristol condo was going to be used for manufacturing THC cartridges and even discussed finding a person to falsely be the “face” of the condo to avoid suspicion. Tyler and Jacob sometimes went to Minnesota and Chicago to deliver product, according to the complaint.
They had a source in California named “moo,” it says.
The informant said Courtney allegedly “knew what was going on in the back room in her office because she came into the back room while cartridges were being filled. Tyler and Jacob told the informant that Courtney wanted them to start investing in real estate…(but) that they were making too much money making and selling the vape cartridges.” They told the CI they gave Courtney money too.
On August 10, 2019, shortly after a member of the vape cartridge operation was arrested, Courtney texted with Tyler, the complaint alleges.
“Okay. I love you,” she wrote. “I need you to talk to me when you can. I love you. I’m going to see if I can sleep but not sure that is possible.”
Tyler responded: “Love you too and get some sleep. I’m okay just have to take precautions.”
“If anyone does get a chance to pop those bags downstairs at the office have that done please. And my thought is get some rubbing alcohol if that’s what we’re gonna need again I don’t mind helping once I break free. But if anyone is (sic) is going to a store…” Courtney responded.
Tyler said: “It’s already there.”
Courtney responded, “Can someone please sweep up the coffee and put the scales in the garage away. I just had (another person) say, I though (sic) you don’t let your kids sell drugs. I said I don’t. He said there are scales just sitting out.”
Courtney also shared an article “warning people to stop vaping cartridges because people were becoming injured and dying.”
R&R shares an employee parking lot behind the business with the Realty Executives office, and some of the employees at R&R remember seeing the Huffhines brothers going in and out the back door. Sometimes, their Lexus and white BMW would be parked by the back door at night.
“There was lots of suspicious activity,” said former R&R bartender Donald Durkee while he was mending a pair of leather gloves and periodically taking hits off his vape. “They were always going to the back of the building, always had friends with them.”
When one of the people involved in the manufacturing process was stopped by police, the operation was put on hold for a couple of weeks until they could find a more inconspicuous location. Eventually, the Huffhines decided to move the operation to a condo in the village of Bristol, and Courtney brokered a deal for a unit in Bristol Bay, authorities say.
Tyler allegedly employed 10 workers to fill the vape cartridges with THC at the condo. Instead of paying around $2.50 for each prefilled cartridge, he could not pay someone 30 cents per cartridge to fill them. Originally paying the workers $20 an hour, he soon realized that he could increase productivity and save money if workers were paid per cartridge. He checked on the workers once a day and paid them for their efforts, according to court documents.
Neighbors were completely unaware of the illegal operation. The red brick and white wood-covered homes in Bristol Bay gave the impression that one was in Fredericksburg, Virginia instead of Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Bristol Bay was a place where everyone waved to each other and paused their daily walks to chat. A large, white building that resembled a colonial-style church was where residents gathered for community activities. The streets are called things like Jamestown Place.
“It’s a super friendly neighborhood,” said Julie Rossi, whose porch overlooks the condo where workers allegedly filled THC cartridges for Tyler.
Rossi would see different people constantly come and go from the condo, but never thought anything of it. Sometimes she waved to whoever was outside the condo, and they would politely wave back. Even when the police eventually raided the condo, she didn’t know about it until later that evening, despite working from home that day.
With a steady supply coming from the Bristol condo, a confidential informant told detectives that Tyler was able to start selling across Wisconsin, Chicago and Minnesota. Police had no idea that such a wide-reaching operation was going on in Westosha.
“This one was going on right under our nose,” said Sheriff Beth.
A Vaping Crisis Hits Home
It wasn’t until parents from Waukesha, an affluent suburb near Milwaukee, caught their high schooler with one of Tyler’s vapes in early July that the investigation started. They brought their child down to the City of Waukesha police station to cooperate with law enforcement.
“They wanted to hold their son accountable for what was later learned to us that these high school-aged kids were distributing and utilizing vaping cartridges containing THC,” said City of Waukesha Police Department Captain Dan Baumann in a press conference. “This was all in the high schools, and they were distributing this within the Waukesha community.”
Back in Westosha, school officials are also grappling with the issue.
Gendron, the superintendent of Westosha Central, explained that keeping students off the path towards drug usage, whether it be nicotine or THC or any other drug, involves continued education and developing a dialogue between students and adults with more life experience.
According to a report by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, THC vapes are one of the suspected culprits that authorities and experts believe caused the spike in lung disease among young adults in Southeastern Wisconsin, including Waukesha. The majority of cases reported using e-cigarettes or other vaping devices to inhale THC-containing products, such as waxes and oils. Many of the illegally made THC vapes contained Vitamin E additives that cause lung complications in their users.
As health organizations continue to urge the public to stay away from using THC vapes, authorities continue to look for the source of illegally made vapes. Investigators from the city’s police department worked five tiers up through the chain of dealers and suppliers in the city, until the investigation led out of Waukesha county into Racine and Kenosha.
Meanwhile, on August 27, Courtney posted on her Instagram, “Sometimes you just need to talk about something, not to get sympathy or help, but just to kill its power by allowing the truth of things to hit the air.”
After talking with a confidential informant, Waukesha and Racine detectives were told of Tyler’s operation and followed him on Snapchat. This is where Tyler would promote his business by posting videos and photos of boxes filled to the brim with thousands of colorful packages containing THC vape cartridges. Locals in Paddock Lake say it’s still easy to get illegal vapes via Snapchat.
Search warrants were issued, and the Huffhines brothers were promptly arrested. The boys remain in jail, but Courtney posted bail and was released after her arrest. At the arraignment hearing for both her and her sons, Courtney, wearing business attire and bright-red lipstick, had a crowd of people around her in support, including her lawyer and her ex-husband. Now the Huffhines’ brothers wait until their next appearance in court for Jan. 16. The attorneys for Courtney, Jacob and Tyler all declined to comment.
While the case has made some more hesitant to talk about the Huffhines family, it has opened a discussion about the growing trend of vaping, including both illegal THC cartridges and legal nicotine vapes.
A former cop before owning R&R, Storbeck said that cocaine and marijuana were the most popular drugs during his time on the force. He said that the growing use of heroin and vaping in the Kenosha and Racine areas are unfamiliar to him, and, frankly, scare him.
“We’ve been made more aware of the seriousness of the issue with people illegally producing THC cartridges,” said Sergeant Chris Hannah, public information officer for the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department. “It’s always a learning experience for us. We always encourage parents in the community to be on the lookout for these counterfeit THC vape devices.”
It was, after all, thanks to Waukesha parents holding their high schooler accountable that exposed the Huffhines. Authorities encourage parents to talk with their children about the dangers of THC vapes and to provide any tips or information to local police.
Some Westosha residents aren’t happy with how the topic of THC vapes has been covered by the media.
One Westosha resident said the media should be focusing on positive topics like featuring military veterans instead of sensationalizing the Huffhines, while Durkee considers the escalation of the whole illegal vape manufacturing ring to be ridiculous.
There have been a lot of heroin overdoses and deaths in the area recently, and none of the THC vape cartridges manufactured by the Huffhines brothers have been linked to any deaths or illnesses yet. He said that police should focus on more important drug problems rather than picking the low hanging fruit of marijuana dealers.
School officials say that all of the news attention has made teens more wary about taking vapes from other people.
“What I have seen is: kids making sure that they’re not taking vapes from other kids,” said Gendron. “Because of not knowing what’s in them. I think it was a little bit of an ‘ah-ha’ moment for our kids. I think there were some that thought ‘oh vapes just have nicotine.,’ and I think a portion of our population knew about the possibility of THC in vapes.”
Some Wisconsin young adults think the public as a whole doesn’t get the difference between vapes with nicotine and those with THC. There’s a sense among some that the fact Wisconsin hasn’t legalized marijuana (medicinal as well as recreational) might have created a more dangerous, unregulated black market.
Allison Schefft, a 3rd year at UW-Milwaukee, feels that vaping isn’t all that bad.
“I don’t think it’s dangerous as people think it is, “ said Schefft. “It’s all about who you’re getting it from.”
Now that the news trucks have packed up and left Bristol and Paddock Lake, Westosha residents are glad to be done with the scrutiny by the media. The Huffhines were a part of the community but don’t necessarily represent it.
“I hate that to be the reason people hear about Paddock Lake,” said Lancour. “It really is a nice area.”