As an engineer, 70-year-old Paul Koren spent his entire career solving problems.
So, two years ago, when his nephew's body was attacked by a degenerative muscle disease and there was little medical professionals could do to ease his pain, Koren suspected medical marijuana could help. So he grew some. And gave it to him for his pain.
His nephew gained weight and started sleeping better, Koren said. It felt good to bring him comfort.
Koren always said yes. A few plants grew to 17 beds in his Miami Township basement.
He estimates he has helped 20 people since he first helped his nephew.
But thanks to a series of bizarre events that involves a home invasion robbery, an intuitive sheriff's deputy and a suspected dead man who wasn't, Koren is facing a prison sentence for growing marijuana and trafficking in drugs.
"I'm not a drug lord," he said. "I am an advocate for the positive benefits and use of marijuana. I help sick people."
He has never been a man in trouble with the law before.
Koren heads to court Friday in Hamilton County where he hopes prosecutors will cut him a plea deal that keeps him out of prison. But they could demand up to six years in prison for his crime.
No authorities agreed to talk for this story. Police and prosecutors say they can't because the case hasn't been resolved. But a sheriff's office investigative report, along with the arrests of two men for robbery, backs up what Koren says happened to him early the morning of Jan. 7 when armed intruders burst into his bedroom.
Home invaders: 'Where is the dope?'
Koren heard noises in the hallway and then two people barged into his bedroom. He could tell there was a third person and possibly a fourth in the house, but things unfolded so quickly, that even in hindsight he can't be sure.
At least one of them wielded a small bronze gun of some sort.
"Where is the money?"
"Where is the dope?" The men demanded.
The guys were small, maybe even teenagers, Koren thought.
And while there may have been a basement full of marijuana plants, there was no money and no guns. The men didn't like that though and began tearing the house apart.
They tied Koren up. They covered his face and body with a towel as a way to pin him down. And then they pistol-whipped him.
The intruders sliced up Koren's marijuana plants, shoving the stolen cache of drugs in garbage bags, even using Koren's own luggage that was stored nearby.
They had parked just down the road, on vacant property. But the owners of the vacant land live nearby and the car seemed suspicious, so they called police.
Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy David Hambaugh responded.
He found Koren outside. The robbers, Koren said, were still inside. As the deputy called for backup, a group of men fled the house.
Koren emerged, scratched and bruised.
He told the deputies what happened.
As authorities helped Koren, they also uncovered the pot farm in his Miami Township basement.
Koren realized he was about be to busted.
He refused to give his name and spoke frankly. He said he was the victim, not a suspect. And, he told deputies, "marijuana is a plant and should be legal."
Drug officers didn't agree. They found 36 marijuana plants weighing 45 pounds and one and a half ounces of psychedelic mushrooms in Koren's basement. Koren says he doesn't know how the mushrooms got there, but friends help him with his operation and he suspects that's where they came from.
Police now saw this as a drug case. Three agents from the county's drug task force came out to investigate.
A body found in the freezer
During a search of the home, Deputy Paul Fangman spotted a chest-type freezer in the basement. Fangman suspected it was filled with marijuana as a way to keep it fresh.What he found instead was a body, lying face up on the floor of the freezer.
Fangman thought the man was dead.
Kyle Hughes, one of the intruders, it turned out, had been unable to escape the house when police arrived, so he climbed in the freezer to hide. And he got stuck and suffered heat stroke and lack of oxygen.
Just as things were unfolding, Hughes' eyes popped open, scaring everyone in the room.
He wasn't dead.
He had just passed out. After being treated at the hospital, he was arrested and is now facing burglary.
kidnapping and felonious assault charges. His case is pending.
Another suspect was arrested in Kentucky and is awaiting extradition.
A quiet life of fixing things.
Koren has been free on bond since his arrest, but he hasn't been home. He's afraid. Of his house, of his future.
This is something that happens to other people.
Koren went to St. Xavier High School, graduated from the University of Cincinnati. He became an engineer and worked for some of the largest chemical companies in the world, developing products like tabulating machines, packaging lines and specialty test tubes.
He married, divorced and had three children, who are now grown. And he's lived in the same three-bedroom house, tucked away on a wooded lot, for more than 30 years.
He told officers he lives on Social Security and his 401K. He doesn't need money. He never sold the drugs.
A search warrant of Koren’s home shows the drug agents found grow lights, filters, fans, power converters and a vacuum sealer.
And the marijuana and mushrooms.
It’s the kind of evidence that sends bad guys to prison. Maybe for six years.
But Koren insists he isn’t a bad guy.
A man who used Koren’s marijuana to ease back pain so bad he couldn’t walk says Koren isn’t a bad guy.
A grandma who used Koren’s marijuana to help her sleep when she couldn’t anymore says Koren isn’t a bad guy.
Friday, that determination will be up to a judge.
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