Former Iowa City Head Shop Owner Pleads Guilty to Federal Synthetic Drug Charges

A man who owned and operated a head shop in Iowa City pled guilty on October 5, 2015, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Robert Carl Sharp, age 37, from Peoria, Illinois, was convicted of conspiring to manufacture and distribute a synthetic drug called AB-FUBINACA.  He also was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute it.

Court documents reflect that in 2012, in Peoria, Illinois, Sharp began selling, and later manufacturing, smokeable synthetic cannabinoid products which are commonly known as “Spice,” “incense,” or K2.  Sharp sold these products in packets that marketed the substances as incense, and contained a warning that the products were “not for human consumption,” although Sharp knew the products were actually intended for human consumption.  The synthetic cannabinoids in these products were actually research chemicals that have not been tested or approved as safe for human consumption, and which have unpredictable short-term effects and unknown long-term effects on users.

Sharp eventually moved to Iowa and opened a head shop called Pipe Dreamz in downtown Iowa City.  He employed another individual, Wayne Watkins, to manufacture synthetic cannabinoid products called “Gods of Aroma,” “Bizarro,” “AK-47 Cherry Popper,” “Bling Bling Monkey,” “Super Nova,” and “Darkness.”  Sharp would order synthetic cannabinoid chemicals and also purchase bulk quantities of dried damiana leaves, a plant material that resembles dried marijuana.  Watkins would dilute the synthetic cannabinoid chemical in acetone, and then spray the mixture onto the damiana leaves.  Watkins would then add some flavoring and package the substances into the various brands sold by Sharp.

On May 7, 2015, Sharp’s store, his house and storage unit in Center Point, Watkins’s house in Cedar Rapids, and the Pipe Dreamz store in Iowa City were all searched by federal law enforcement.  During the searches, officers seized thousands of synthetic cannabinoid products, including the sprayed-on plant variety and a liquid form of the synthetic cannabinoids that was designed for use in e‑cigarettes.  Officers seized an active manufacturing operation in Watkins’s house.

At the plea hearing, Sharp stated he was told by the individuals from whom he purchased the substances that he was buying legal chemicals.  He admitted at the plea hearing, however, that despite those statements from his suppliers, he believed there was a high probability that the substances he received and distributed were regulated by federal drug laws, but took deliberate actions to avoid learning of the true identity of the substances by refusing to get them tested by a laboratory.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Sharp remains in the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Sharp faces a possible maximum sentence of 60 years’ imprisonment, a $3,000,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.  Sharp also agreed to forfeit $200,000 in proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs.

The case was investigated by the Iowa City Police Department and as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services; and the Internal Revenue Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.

Court file information available https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 15-CR-31-1-LRR.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.