A federal jury in Dallas convicted two brothers Monday of running a large synthetic marijuana operation that did business in smoke shops and convenience stores across the nation, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Barry Bays, 43, and his brother, Jerad Coleman, 28, both of Fort Wayne, IN, made and sold “spice” and other drugs marketed as “incense,” “potpourri,” “air freshener,” and “aroma therapy products,” in at least 38 states, prosecutors said.
Seven others, including two from North Texas, have already pleaded guilty for their roles in the operation, which was busted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Project Synergy that targeted such organizations.
The brothers were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue following a nearly two-week trial.
Bays also was convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and using a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony. Bays and Coleman remain in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set yet.
Two of the conspirators are from Denton: Samuel Madeley, 22, and Holden Bownds, 23. Four are from Fort Wayne: Aaron Parrish, 31, Jennie Miller, 41, Kyle Boyer, 31, and Brandon Zerler, 26. And David Muise, 23, is from Londonderry, NH.
Miller was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for acting as a “straw purchaser” of the firearm Bays used.
The other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in coming months.
Bays sold the drugs through a company he set up in Indiana and Ohio. He bought the chemicals from Madeley and Bownds and mixed them with leafy plant material to create spice, court records show.
Bays sold it under the names, B2 Da Bomb, V8, Roses and Street Legal.
Bays hired Muise to create YouTube videos in which he reviewed Bays’ spice products, prosecutors said.
TOP PICKS
Brothers convicted in large synthetic marijuana ring with tentacles in North Texas
No comments:
Post a Comment