Excise cites store for synthetic marijuana, owner also charged

Friday, July 20, 2012

Indiana State Excise Police officers cited a Greencastle convenience store Thursday afternoon for allowing a public nuisance after an investigation into the sale of synthetic marijuana.

Excise police cited Hoosier Pete, the Marathon gas station/convenience store in the former BP building at 1107 Indianapolis Rd., after a five-month investigation into the sale of synthetic marijuana.

In February, authorities received a complaint alleging that synthetic marijuana -- also know as K2 or Spice -- was being sold at the location on Greencastle's East Side.

After learning that a warrant was issued for his arrest, store owner Bhupinder Singh Sodhi, 31, of Plainfield, turned himself in at the Putnam County Jail.

Sodhi was preliminary charged with dealing in a synthetic cannabinoid (a felony), maintaining a common nuisance (a felony) and possession of a synthetic cannabinoid (a misdemeanor).

Excise Police also cited Hoosier Pete, which holds an alcoholic beverage permit, for allegedly allowing a public nuisance on the premises.

On Feb. 23, excise police seized samples of what they believed to be synthetic marijuana -- products made illegal by a change in Indiana law on July 1, 2011. Lab tests on a sample of these products confirmed they contained a controlled substance.

The Putnam County Prosecutor's Office and Greencastle Police Department assisted Excise Police with their investigation.

Indiana State Excise officers are the enforcement division of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. While excise officers have the authority to enforce any state law, they focus primarily on enforcing Indiana's alcohol and tobacco statutes.

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  • Five month investigation? Really?

    -- Posted by putcocvb on Fri, Jul 20, 2012, at 8:21 AM
  • stealthmode, I wish you would stay off this website, or at least have your comment privileges revoked. I never had a user name to make comments on here until I saw all of your ridiculous, S*** stirring comments. So be proud of one thing in life, I created a user name because of you. But that's probably the extent of your life achievements.

    On a less personal level, be glad the Excise Police along with GPD throughly investigated this. They stopped the gas station from selling illegal goods, and took more synthetic marijuana off the streets. They did what they are trained and paid to do, so give them a pat on the back. Five months in the grand scheme of things really isn't that long. There are a lot of crimes being committed, and each one demands someones time and effort.

    I applaud the Indiana Excise Police and GPD for getting all of the information and acting on it. Thank you for protecting and serving our community.

    -- Posted by hahahaha on Fri, Jul 20, 2012, at 10:27 AM
  • You will notice that the article said that "on Feb. 23 the excise police seized samples...," so the implication is that the product was no longer being sold to anyone during the time of the investigation. Once again, people are not getting all the facts or are not paying attention to what is being said before they comment.

    -- Posted by gustave&zelma on Fri, Jul 20, 2012, at 11:17 AM
  • If any of the "CSI's" commenting knew about forensics or research they'd know it takes time for the results of a test to come back. Without PROOF, they can't just pull product off the shelves.

    It isn't like the movies .. they don't walk the sample to their buddy in a lab and have the results before the show ends. Sheesh.

    -- Posted by Emmes on Mon, Jul 23, 2012, at 11:51 AM
  • Really? A 5 month investigation?

    -- Posted by Apollo13 on Mon, Jul 23, 2012, at 9:33 PM
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