CLEARFIELD – A Glen Richey man was charged with illegally selling THC items from his employer’s vendor booth at the Clearfield County Fair.
Harley S. Rothrock, 23, was charged by Clearfield Borough police with felony manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver.
He was also charged with felony knowledge that property is proceeds of illegal act and criminal use of communications facility and related offenses.
Rothrock waived his right to a preliminary hearing on all the charges, except felony knowledge that property is proceeds of illegal act, which was withdrawn. His bail is set at $75,000 monetary.
According to the affidavit, the investigation began at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 4 when police were contacted about suspected suspicious activity in the Expo I Building.
Upon arrival, officers were directed to a vendor booth, which reportedly had smoking devices (bongs, glass pipes, etc.) with a sign: “for tobacco use only.”
It also had a brown, leafy substance that was individually packaged in plastic baggies. Multiple products contained CBD, police said.
Nearby vendors reported the booth worker would leave for extended periods and return with unknown items. It was suspected that he was selling marijuana.
Vendors said there wasn’t any signage indicating customers must be 21 years or older and the worker didn’t require proof of age for purchases.
Vendors also reported that some customers appeared to be under 21, and at 12:15 p.m., police used an informant to approach the booth worker, Rothrock.
When the informant asked Rothrock if he had anything “heavier,” he stated he was out of “bud,” a common term for marijuana.
He reportedly said that he did have “edibles,” or product containing THC, and cartridges, small containers of THC liquid that hook to vapes.
Rothrock then allegedly retrieved two cartridges and three bags of edibles from a bag under the table for the CI and collected payment of $120.
Afterwards, the informant said they’d be back with a buddy and Rothrock reportedly commented that he was almost out but would call a friend to stock up.
Rothrock said he’d get his resupply that day around 4 p.m. The informant left and evidence was turned over to police.
This included two bags of 500mg “dank gummies,” one bag of 600mg Trolli Apple O’s and two cartridges of a greenish-gold liquid, police said.
At 5:04 p.m., it was learned Rothrock had returned to the Expo I with more capsules and edibles. A search warrant was then obtained and executed at the booth.
Inside the building, authorities observed numerous individuals at the booth and identified the worker as Rothrock. He was subsequently placed in cuffs.
When he was informed of the warrant, he started saying that he needed money for rent. He was escorted out and transported to the borough police station.
The search allegedly yielded $826.88, 32 cartridges of liquid THC, eight bags of gummy edibles, a grinder with green leafy substance and paraphernalia.
During an interview, Rothrock told police he only made one sale that day, and that he has a medical marijuana card but bought the drugs from an illegal source.
He refused to identify his source, and stated he sold drugs because he didn’t make enough money and was in need of a place to stay for parole purposes.
He said of the cash seized by police, only $120 was from his sale of drugs, and that the rest was from his employer.
Rothrock isn’t licensed to sell Schedule 1 drugs, was aware he was selling cannabis-infused edibles and cartridges and that it was illegal, police said.
Knowing this, he allegedly stored the drugs in a bag that was underneath the booth’s table but out of view. The cash was found in the same bag.
Based on Rothrock’s prices, police seized around $1,120 worth of drugs, which doesn’t include that bought by the CI, according to the affidavit.