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The Davie teen charged with selling LSD to local high school students appeared before a judge in Superior Court last week.

Brandon Chance Hall, 16, stood beside his attorney, Richard McCain, as assistant DA John Bandle talked about the arrest in one of the largest LSD trafficking operations in decades.

Last summer, a source told Mocksville police that Hall, who is homeschooled and had no criminal record, was selling LSD to local residents, including students at Davie High.

On Aug. 24 and 26, Hall sold the drug to an undercover detective, and on Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, the detective bought a total of 200 units of the drug from Hall.

During a buy-bust on Oct. 9, Hall sold the detective 500 units for $2,700 and was arrested for three counts of trafficking LSD. His car, which belonged to his grandfather, was searched, as was the home he shares with his mother. Large amounts of cash were found in both.

Bandle told Judge Mark E. Klass that Hall “is the first defendant to be convicted in one of the largest LSD cases in the country last year.”

The other defendants are in Forsyth County and South Carolina, and the main source of the drugs Hall was selling is in Denver, Colo. They are all awaiting trial.

When Klass asked Hall if he had consumed any alcohol or used any illegal substances recently, Hall admitted he smoked marijuana a week before court.

As Hall wiped away tears, McCain told Klass that Hall “comes from a good family and is an exemplary student. He got good grades and was never disciplined or kicked out of any private or public school.”

Hall was a student at Oak Ridge Military Academy.

“He is four classes away from earning his high school diploma and two of those are electives,” said McCain. “He’s never been in any trouble, never stolen a candy bar, never gotten in a fight, and I think this is a travesty but the state has got the evidence.”

McCain asked for work release for Hall, saying his father would be a qualifying employer.

“I don’t believe this young man has a drug problem but he was honest in telling the court he smoked a little marijuana a week ago. I would also ask for drug rehabilitation while he is in prison.”

Hall’s mother cried as she told Klass her son has never been in trouble and is a help to her and his grandfather.

“This just blows my mind. Brandon was going to graduate a year ahead of his peers. He works for his grandfather every day, and I have had no problems with him at all. He’s been a great kid,” she said.

Klass sentenced Hall on one count of trafficking LSD to 35 to 51 months in prison, recommending work release and drug rehabilitation. The other two charges were dismissed per his guilty plea.

Hall was ordered to pay a fine of $25,000. He won’t begin serving his sentence until August, to give him time to earn his GED.

During and after the trial, Bandle said he again wanted to commend the Mocksville Police Department for their diligence in bringing Hall to justice. He said without their hard work, none of the arrests would have been possible and the drugs would still be on the street and in the hands of young people.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security were also involved.