The owner of Discount Tobacco wasn’t the only one charged from last week’s raid.
According to court documents, state police also charged the person who admitted to delivering the synthetic drugs to the Winchester store.
On Thursday, Kentucky State Police detectives executed a search warrant at Discount Tobacco in Shoppers Plaza after they made several undercover purchases of synthetic marijuana at the business.
According to the search warrants, detectives and cooperating witnesses made three purchases of synthetic marijuana at the store between July 20 and Oct. 3. All the packages tested positive for methanone, which is a synthetic drug, according to the search warrant.
Police also confiscated more than $54,000 in cash and several illegal gambling machines.
When detectives executed the warrant, they charged the business owner, James B. Clevenger, 54, of 25 Fontaine Blvd., with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. He was not charged for the gambling machines.
While they were at the business, they detained another man after he tried to flee, according to court documents. Meraj Muhammad, 32, of Houston, Texas, told detectives that he delivered the synthetic drugs to Clevenger at the store. Clevenger told detectives that Muhammad had made several deliveries to his business.
Muhammad was also charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. He pleaded not guilty Monday and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 17. Clevenger is free on bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 29.
Thursday was not the first time the state police had searched Clevenger’s business. In 2008, they confiscated seven slot machines from Discount Tobacco as part of a county-wide round-up for illegal gambling complaints. Clevenger was originally charged with first-degree promoting gambling, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of possession of a gambling device, forfeited the machines and cash, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, which were conditionally discharged.
Contact Fred Petke at fpetke@winchestersun.com.
