James Baker

A former Pardeeville teen faces more than three years in prison after he was involved in a marijuana sale to a police informant.

James P. Baker Jr., 18, of Portage, is free on a $5,000 signature bond after making an initial appearance Thursday in Columbia County Circuit Court on a charge of distribution of THC (marijuana) as party to a crime, which carries a maximum penalty of 1 1/2 years in prison and 2 years of extended supervision, and a fine of $10,000.

Baker met an informant in Pardeeville in August, who took him to a home in the town of Marcellon, where the informant purchased a bag of marijuana.

Baker, a senior at Portage High school, recently moved to Portage, according to his mother, who was at the hearing.

As part of Baker's bond, Judge Alan J. White ordered Baker to attend all his classes in school unless he has a valid excuse to miss a class.

He is scheduled for a pretrial conference Jan. 14.