Attorney General Marty Jackley said five smoke shop owners across the state are indicted for possessing and distributing illegal substances.
In June, the Attorney General, Department of Criminal Investigations, and local chiefs, sheriffs and state’s attorneys collaborated to investigate some smoke shops in the state. Undercover officers conducted controlled buys of products at five stores.
Owners of All the Smoke in Aberdeen, Masterpiece Smoke Shop in Pierre, Puff City in Sioux Falls, Blazin Aces Smokes & Vapes in Sioux Falls and ZyGlam Smoke Shop in Rapid City are all indicted for selling and distributing illegal substances. The substances ranged from marijuana to modified industrial hemp to other drugs Jackley didn’t specify.
Jackley said while there are additional substances he arguably could have brought charges against; he didn’t feel the need to “load up charges on this case” because it’s serving two purposes.
“Number one, it’s saying, ‘This is illegal. You know it. You should know it. The Legislature said it.’ And this is now that warning to all these various shops that if you’re engaging in this kind of activity, number one we know your labs, we know what they’re doing out of state," Jackley said. "And number two, especially there’s an eye towards kids at this point. And we want also to give a warning to parents. And so there were additional chemicals that were control byes that were part of search warrants that could add to additional, typically, misdemeanor charges.”
He added these charges are correct given the time frame and search warrants law enforcement had.
He said a lot of the products have packaging targeted towards children, which poses an additional threat. He said how the state can better protect children in these
instances is a conversation he plans to have with legislators.
“We do put age restrictions on alcohol, on vapes, on tobacco, certain other products. I feel we need to have a conversation about do we need age restrictions on certain chemicals and what chemicals are those," Jackley said. "I think there do need to be more protections. And I think it’s important to have those in place, certain guard rails to protect kids. I mean that conversation will likely be, ‘Is it 18 or 21 [years old]?’ And that’s why South Dakota elects 105 legislators to decide that.”
Jackley added he plans to talk to legislators about if some of these drugs and chemicals are dangerous enough to classify them as felonies instead of misdemeanors.
The full list of indictments is below, per the AG's office, include:
*** Brown County: Emad Zuhair Wazwaz, 31, Blaine, MN, doing business as All the Smoke, Aberdeen. Two misdemeanor counts of Possession, Sale, and Distribution of Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine; and one misdemeanor count of Sale or Distribution of Chemical Modified or Converted Industrial Hemp, a maximum sentence of 30 days in the county jail and a $500 fine, for each count.
*** Hughes County: Bristol Nielsen, 29, Pierre/Ft. Pierre, doing business as Masterpiece Smoke Shop, Pierre. One felony count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana of more than One Pound, a maximum sentence of 15 years in the state penitentiary (with a 30-day mandatory minimum and $30,000 fine; one felony count of Possession with Intent to Distribute or Dispense a Controlled Substance (psilocin), a maximum sentence of 10 years in the state penitentiary (with a mandatory minimum of one year) and $20,000 fine; one felony count of Violation of a Drug Free Zone, a maximum sentence of 10 years in the state penitentiary (with a mandatory minimum of five years) and a $20,000 fine; one felony count of Keeping a Place for the Use or Sale of a Controlled Substance, a maximum sentence of five years in the state penitentiary and a $10,000 fine; and one misdemeanor count of Possession, Sale or Distribution of Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine.
*** Lincoln County: Saleh Jabr-Saleh Al Names, 26, Sioux Falls, doing business as Puff City, Sioux Falls. Three misdemeanor counts of Possession, Sale or Distribution of a Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine for each count and one misdemeanor count of Sale, Distribution of Chemical Modified or Converted Industrial Hemp, 30 days in the county jail and a $500 fine.
*** Minnehaha County: Gamal Yahya Abdull Suhail, 35, Sioux Falls, doing business as Blazin Aces Smokes & Vape, Sioux Falls. Four misdemeanor counts of Possession, Sale or Distribution of a Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine for each count.
*** Pennington County: Benjamin Rodriguez, 32, Spearfish, doing business as ZyGlam Smoke Shop, Rapid City. One misdemeanor count of Industrial Hemp for Smoking Prohibited, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine; and one count of Sale or Distribution of a Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine.
