Foustian Bargain: Elementary Principal Arrested For Alleged Heroin Dealing

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.