The dream came true. After graduating from Orrville High, he earned a law-enforcement degree at Cuyahoga Community College, quickly followed by an elementary-education degree from Kent State. After working as a dispatcher for the state patrol in Wooster, he was hired as a police officer in Orrville in 1967. He remained on the force for six years.
Brash and bright, at 28 he was elected sheriff of Wayne County. He was a local boy who had made good. People had expected that from Frost, an impeccably neat man with dark hair parted in the middle and a thin upper lip that was barely a line between his mouth and nose. He had a lovely wife who seemed to hang on his every word. Off duty, he favored cowboy hats and boots.
Although on the surface he was perfect, there was something secretive about the man. Indeed, he once told a reporter for the Wooster
Daily Record
, “I am very careful about what I do. I like to get away and go places where people don’t know me, sometimes.”
As sheriff, Frost’s record was exemplary. Aside from some political trouble with a fellow officer when it came time for reelection, his only mistake centered around Eli Stutzman. In late fall, the sheriff’s department, eager to catch some marijuana growers, put out the word that they needed some help in making a case. They even contactedthe Amish for help, which was unusual in that the Amish prefer staying away from the
Englischers
’ law.
Information that the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department had gathered indicated that Earl, Lester, and Levi Miller were growing substantial quantities of marijuana among their potato- and cornfields. Gossip in town had it that the Millers’ beautiful new house had been paid for in cash—something unheard of in a farm community where money was as tight as a clenched fist. The Millers allegedly dried pot in their barn and packaged it for sale in the basement of their farmhouse.
The Wayne County sheriff was not about to let the Millers get away with it. An undercover sting operation seemed the perfect solution.
Throughout the late fall, Stutzman seemed more secretive and preoccupied than ever, but no one could have guessed what was going on.
Stutzman moved from the Chupps’ into Walter and Maryjane Stoll’s on October 20. He said he wanted to move so that he could watch television and listen to the radio. Later, the timing seemed remarkable.
On October 30, farmer and alleged pot-grower Earl Miller answered the phone; it was Eli Stutzman on the line, saying he wanted to buy some marijuana to cure his headaches. He told Miller that when he was sharing a room with Henry E. Miller at Stoll Farms he smoked some and his headaches went away. It was Henry E. Miller—no relation to the Miller brothers—who had suggested he call.
That night, Les Miller gave Stutzman a small bag of pot. Stutzman offered money, but Miller told him to forget it—the pot was as green as lawn clippings. Stutzman persisted and set some bills on the kitchen table.
From the Millers’, Stutzman rendezvoused with Jim Board, a Wayne County sheriff’s detective working the case with Frost. Stutzman gave Board the little bag and said one of the Millers had gone into the basement to get it.
Stutzman didn’t keep any of this secret. He told Liz Chupp what he had done at the Millers’ and, even more surprising, whom he had done it for.
“He said he had purchased some marijuana undercover for the sheriff’s department,” she recalled.
On Halloween Day, Stutzman’s friend from Stoll Farms, Henry E. Miller, was interviewed by Deputy Board.
Q. Who was the sale made to last night?
A. Eli Stutzman.
Q. What kind of sale was made and for how much?
A. He bought a small bag of marijuana for twelve dollars.
Q. Did you help set up the sale?
A. Yes, Eli called me, then later came to the farm and bought it.
Q. Whose idea was it to grow and sell the marijuana?
A. I don’t really know whose idea it was to grow it, but Earl did the selling.
Q.
Brash and bright, at 28 he was elected sheriff of Wayne County. He was a local boy who had made good. People had expected that from Frost, an impeccably neat man with dark hair parted in the middle and a thin upper lip that was barely a line between his mouth and nose. He had a lovely wife who seemed to hang on his every word. Off duty, he favored cowboy hats and boots.
Although on the surface he was perfect, there was something secretive about the man. Indeed, he once told a reporter for the Wooster
Daily Record
, “I am very careful about what I do. I like to get away and go places where people don’t know me, sometimes.”
As sheriff, Frost’s record was exemplary. Aside from some political trouble with a fellow officer when it came time for reelection, his only mistake centered around Eli Stutzman. In late fall, the sheriff’s department, eager to catch some marijuana growers, put out the word that they needed some help in making a case. They even contactedthe Amish for help, which was unusual in that the Amish prefer staying away from the
Englischers
’ law.
Information that the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department had gathered indicated that Earl, Lester, and Levi Miller were growing substantial quantities of marijuana among their potato- and cornfields. Gossip in town had it that the Millers’ beautiful new house had been paid for in cash—something unheard of in a farm community where money was as tight as a clenched fist. The Millers allegedly dried pot in their barn and packaged it for sale in the basement of their farmhouse.
The Wayne County sheriff was not about to let the Millers get away with it. An undercover sting operation seemed the perfect solution.
Throughout the late fall, Stutzman seemed more secretive and preoccupied than ever, but no one could have guessed what was going on.
Stutzman moved from the Chupps’ into Walter and Maryjane Stoll’s on October 20. He said he wanted to move so that he could watch television and listen to the radio. Later, the timing seemed remarkable.
On October 30, farmer and alleged pot-grower Earl Miller answered the phone; it was Eli Stutzman on the line, saying he wanted to buy some marijuana to cure his headaches. He told Miller that when he was sharing a room with Henry E. Miller at Stoll Farms he smoked some and his headaches went away. It was Henry E. Miller—no relation to the Miller brothers—who had suggested he call.
That night, Les Miller gave Stutzman a small bag of pot. Stutzman offered money, but Miller told him to forget it—the pot was as green as lawn clippings. Stutzman persisted and set some bills on the kitchen table.
From the Millers’, Stutzman rendezvoused with Jim Board, a Wayne County sheriff’s detective working the case with Frost. Stutzman gave Board the little bag and said one of the Millers had gone into the basement to get it.
Stutzman didn’t keep any of this secret. He told Liz Chupp what he had done at the Millers’ and, even more surprising, whom he had done it for.
“He said he had purchased some marijuana undercover for the sheriff’s department,” she recalled.
On Halloween Day, Stutzman’s friend from Stoll Farms, Henry E. Miller, was interviewed by Deputy Board.
Q. Who was the sale made to last night?
A. Eli Stutzman.
Q. What kind of sale was made and for how much?
A. He bought a small bag of marijuana for twelve dollars.
Q. Did you help set up the sale?
A. Yes, Eli called me, then later came to the farm and bought it.
Q. Whose idea was it to grow and sell the marijuana?
A. I don’t really know whose idea it was to grow it, but Earl did the selling.
Q.
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