Trending
Ex-Agency broker caught smuggling weed given community service
Jonas Heller was pulled over in Colorado with several pounds of marijuana
UPDATED, August 24, 9:20 a.m.: Jonas Heller, a former Agency agent caught driving with two duffel bags of marijuana in Colorado, will not be serving any jail time in the near future.
On Monday, a Colorado district court judge handed the Venice resident a “deferred sentence” of two years, during which time he will be supervised by probation officers, according to court records obtained by The Real Deal.
If Heller pays all his fines and remains unscathed through those two years, the case will be dismissed in 2020, a spokesperson from Mesa County Court said.
Heller plead guilty in July to a Level 2 Drug Felony for knowingly possessing marijuana with the intent to manufacture, dispense, sell or distribute, court documents show. The charge carries a maximum of 16 years in prison.
A level two felony applies when there are more than five pounds of marijuana, but less than 50. State troopers charged Heller in December, alleging he had an estimated 52 pounds in his car. At 52 pounds, his crime would have been at the highest tier, carrying a maximum sentence of 32 years in jail.
As part of his sentence, Heller will have to pay $13,500 in fines and perform 48 hours of community service. He’ll also have to submit to drug tests.
Should Heller violate his sentencing order, he could be subject to a resentencing and possible prison time, a spokesperson for the court said.
Neither Heller nor his lawyers, Fredric Winocur and Joshua Landy of Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur, responded to requests for comment.
The 46-year-old former real estate agent was pulled over in December while driving a rental car through Mesa County in Colorado, after he switched lanes incorrectly. A state trooper noticed an “overwhelming odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle,” and, after a search, found the two large duffel bags containing the marijuana, according to the original police report.
Mesa County prosecutors charged Heller with possession with intent to manufacture or distribute marijuana, and improper use of a passing lane. After posting $50,000 bail, Heller was granted a request to return to L.A. to “work on real estate deals.”
It’s unclear what deals Heller was pursuing at the time.
Prior to his arrest, Heller worked at the Agency and Westside Estate Agency. A cached version of his Agency web page said he split time between New York and L.A. and had completed over $1 billion in sales.