gang-related.
14 years olds should be gawking after girls and popping pimples, not running drugs from their bedrooms. Bad on the parent (probable single mom or grandmother for not noticing).
What do you mean, "not noticing"? She kept a hawk eye on it, to make sure he didn't cheat her on her cut of the trade.
Typically younger teens are used for the exposed part of the work because they can only be sent to juvie, at most; and the records are sealed or expunged at majority, giving them a clean felony slate to start with on their march toward an adult '3 strikes'.