Mark Twain’s hometown usually brings up images of lazy summer evenings or tales of a mischievous Huck Finn. This month however the talk is about Hannibal elementary school principal Joshua Foust. A local success story of a boy who graduated from the Hannibal High and came back to his home town to run the elementary school, Foust has been arrested for possession of heroin as part of a drug sale conspiracy.
Police say that Foust, 33, sold a few thousand dollars of heroin with his brother, Samuel Frost (right), and a third man, 32-year-old Ryan Thompson (left). Police found heroin and methamphetamine in the home of Foust that he shares with his wife and their young son. He has been charged with drug possession with intent to deliver.
It is very sad to see an educator in such a case, particularly one with such a bright future. A case like Foust (who made over $60,000 a year) raises obvious risks for the defense that his sentence will be more severe due to his position even though there is no evidence that he did any dealing in or around the school.
Yes, of course he should be arrested and if he is convicted, he should be stoned. Society shouldn’t put up with anybody found to be in possession of something that can poison our children. E.G. Just because Mickey D’s has thousands of locations where they peddle all kinds of poison to our kids, they shouldn’t be considered too big to take a fall. Bookem. Danno.
Smoking cigarettes, smoking pot, snorting meth, jeso.
Teacher, teacher, I declare: we can see your underwear!
– Old Saying from Ferguson when BitchinDog was a student there.
@JonathanTurley
I’m a big fan of your site but, when it comes to newsgathering, you should stick to your day job. I count at least three undisputed and verifiable facts that you’re simply wrong about:
(1) there has never been any allegation that JD Foust sold or had meth in his house (indeed, the police confirmed he didn’t);
(2) you’ve confused Sam Foust and Ryan Thompson (Thompson is the one on the left); and
(3) Thompson isn’t alleged to have sold heroin, his only charge is possession.
Besides getting the facts wrong, I also can’t believe that you’re leaving out the most salacious details:
(1) JD was running for city council;
(2) JD’s wife has another baby on the way;
(3) JD quit his job as principal, which was approved the day before his house got searched; and
(4) JD left for Texas the day before his house got searched, and police initially reported that he was attempting to flee to Mexico.
“But, what about those suspenders?”
Ha. A sign of the times, I’m afraid.
Since he is in education, this might be a good segue into showing The Faces of Meth at the schools in his district. This is a progression of booking photos that shows how the drug ravages hard core users due to a higher rate of cellular death. They can also cover how people sacrifice their livelihood, their friends, family, and everything else.
If any good can come from this, let him be an anti-drug message.
http://www.rehabs.com/explore/faces-of-addiction/
Pogo, I get it. I loved Royko. But, what about those suspenders?
“I am one of those people that HATE tightness around my neck.
Me, too. I gotta wear a tie at work. I fixed the problem by wearing one neck size larger than I needed. Now it is quite comfortable.
My complaint about the young man in this post is that the accompanying photo makes him look like someone pretending to be an adult.
No one would make a mistake of Mike Royko, who could wear a tie correctly or wear it loose, but you always knew he was an adult male..
http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/files/2011/07/royko-is-king.jpg
http://cdn.thewire.com/media/img/upload/wire/2014/01/15/AP10042001517/lead_large.jpg
New Hampshire protestors in front of state house. For this drug use he’d be executed in Indonesia. Typical New Hampshire resident, bald, ugly and stupid looking.
Warspite, LOL!
Maybe this guy will move to Indonesia.
Isaac is on a roll. He nailed it on the Indonesia thread and also here.
There should be a relationship between the sentence and the standing in society. An elementary school principal dealing heroin should be nailed with bigger spikes than some hapless low life. Trust and responsibility betrayed should be factored into the sentence.
Unfortunately that doesn’t apply after you rise above a certain level, not enough politicians, bankers, lawyers etc in jail. Bernie Madoff, the one token example. There should be many, many, many more.
Our school superintendent was much smarter.
He stole form the public school system and after three years all he got was a new job in Georgia, where he did the same thing.
No, there’s no evidence that he was dealing in or around the school, just evidence that he had meth and heroin at his home, where he had a young son. Fantastic.
But he had a college degree; surely they meant to arrest only the high school graduates.
Teachers and administrators are the one of the lowest paid of all professions, which is a shame, since education is so vital to our economy and our country’s stability.
Nonetheless, there is no excuse for breaking the law.
All I can think of is that these young educators are influenced with TV and shows like Breaking Bad as well as others.
As marijuana spreads legally throughout the country and other drugs become acceptable and legal, our country will become dumb and dumber.
We had a school principal who became school superintendent of the school district in our small town. He was (or seemed to be) an upstanding honorable, and well liked/respected person of the community, who was found to be using and selling drugs. I believe it was cocaine. What a sad story, to see a person through away a perfectly honest and honorable life for one of crime and drug use.
I pray that people will stop living in denial and come to realize how destructive drugs and other bad habits are to lives.
Damn Pogo, I always get that tell confused with the “when their lips are moving” profession. By the way, the dressed for success tell still works in politics. 😀
At 60k he is at the low end of the pay scale for an administrator. Hannibal was falling apart when I was there a few years ago, even though they were doing some work on the streets downtown. I can see him filling an opening for heroin dealer as the last one left town. 😉
I would have had him arrested because he couldn’t tie his tie or button his shirt.
It’s a tell, to me, of immaturity; still a boy, only pretending to be an adult.