CLEARFIELD – A convenience store owner pleaded guilty to selling synthetic drugs Tuesday during plea and sentencing court in Clearfield County.
Gurpreet Singh, 43, Clearfield, was sentenced for criminal conspiracy/delivery of a controlled substance to six months to one year less one day in jail and two years consecutive probation. In a second case, he pleaded guilty to the same charge and received a concurrent sentence of six months to one year less one day in jail. He was fined a total of $600 plus costs. He must complete counseling and submit to DNA testing.
In May, his co-defendant, Rupinder Kaur, 43, who faced the same charges, was accepted into the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program. She must complete one year ARD probation and counseling.
The charges stem from incidents in November of 2011 at the Uni-Marts in Hyde and Curwensville, which the couple own. According to the affidavits of probable cause, police had received information that the Uni-Marts in both areas had been selling and distributing synthetic marijuana in foil packets.
On Nov. 1, 2011 at 11:18 a.m. an undercover vice officer entered the Hyde store, where he saw two females behind the counter, one of which was Kaur. She sold him the synthetic marijuana, which was in a silver foil package with “radioactive” on the front.
At 11:29 a.m. that same day, the undercover officer was in the Curwensville Uni-Mart, where Singh sold him two packets of synthetic marijuana from behind the counter, which were labeled “atomic bomb” for $36.
Lab reports showed that both items were a synthetic cannabinoid, which is a Schedule 1 drug.
After a search warrant was granted for both stores, officers found 249 various marked packets of synthetic marijuana, 45 various smoking devices and two metal grinders in the Hyde store and 280 various packets of synthetic marijuana in the Curwensville store.
