By Bonnie L. Cook and Martha Woodall
The Philadelphia Inquirer
WYNCOTE, Pa. — A physics teacher at an elite Philadelphia magnet school has been charged with selling a pound of marijuana outside a suburban high school — and illegally possessing a 9mm handgun when police arrested him.
Paul Stein, 34, resigned Tuesday from his post in the science department of George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, where he had taught for nine years, said Fernando Gallard, a district spokesman.
Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said Stein, of the 7700 block of Summerdale Avenue, was arrested a week ago within 100 feet of Cheltenham High School after he sold marijuana to undercover agents.
Stein taught physics, chemistry, and engineering. His salary was about $75,000, Steele said.
On Sept. 8, Stein sold a pound of pot for $1,500 to an undercover member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force, Steele said.
The deal took place within 100 feet of the high school in Wyncote, and Stein had a loaded Smith & Wesson tucked in the waistband of his pants, Steele said.
On Aug. 10 and Sept. 3, Stein peddled 16 grams of marijuana to an undercover agent for $100, Steele said. One of those transactions also occurred within 100 feet of the high school, he said.
After his Sept. 8 arrest, police, acting on a search warrant, went to Stein’s house and seized another pound of marijuana, five firearms, a bulletproof vest, and $16,000 in cash.
Stein was arraigned on drug and weapons charges before District Judge Christopher Cerski, who set bail at $150,000 cash. Stein was being held at the Montgomery County prison.
If convicted, Stein faces a mandatory penalty of five years in jail for carrying a firearm in the commission of a drug deal as well as four years in prison for allegedly conducting two drug deals near a school, Steele said.
Stein’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
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