Man Started Selling Drugs After Losing Corporate Job: Cops

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — A Sandy Springs man accused of running a drug distribution operation from his home told police his sudden economic crisis forced him to launch the enterprise. Dan Ernst Siegler was charged with possessing about two pounds of marijuana and dozens of THC-infused candies after a search of his home unearthed his stash of drugs.

Officers with the Sandy Springs Police Department received an anonymous tip that possible sales and shipment of drugs were taking place at the home in the 7400 block of Old Maine Trail. An officer was sent around 4 p.m. April 4 to the house and spoke with Siegler, who initially denied allegations that he was selling drugs from the home.

"He stated that he only shipped smoked salmon for his personal business," according to an incident report released by Sandy Springs police.

The officer asked if Siegler had any illegal contraband inside the home, and the resident said he had a "small amount" of marijuana. Siegler invited the officer inside, and retrieved a small glass container filled with marijuana from his computer table.

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While looking at the table, the officer saw ground marijuana, rolling papers and three smoking devices on the table. Noting the smell of marijuana throughout the house, the officer asked if Siegler had more weed stowed away inside the residence. Siegler allegedly said his wife "hid marijuana in their closet," the report adds.

After the resident consented to a search of his home, Special Investigation Unit officers and police K-9's began combing the residence. A small container of marijuana was found in the storage drawers in the closet.

Several more ounces of marijuana was found in the wetbar on the lower floor of the home. A search of the remainder of the house unearthed 919 grams — or about 2 pounds — of marijuana divided into plastic bags and Mason jars, 28 THC-infused chocolate candy packs and 15 THC-infused gelatin candies that were individually packaged for sale, according to the report. After the search, officers confronted the Sandy Springs resident about their findings.

"Siegler stated that he turned to selling marijuana after he lost his corporate job months prior," the officer wrote in the incident report. "It is to be noted that Siegler stated that he sold to his local friends and neighbors."

Three rifles and three firearms were also removed from the house during the search, the report adds.

Siegler was charged with six counts of possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony, one count of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He was booked into the Fulton County Jail on April 5 and released on $65,000 bail.

Photo: Dan Ernst Siegler. Credit: Fulton County Jail