Former Biloxi city councilman sentenced to six years in prison for drug conspiracy involving vape shops

A former Biloxi city councilman was sentenced to 72 months in prison for conspiracy to possess a Schedule I controlled substance with intent to distribute.

According to court documents and information submitted to the court, Robert Leon Deming, III, 47, formed Candy Shop, LLC in 2019 to operate candy shop stores in Mississippi and North Carolina. The candy shop stores sold CBD and vape products.

In 2020, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the candy shop. The investigation found that some of the vape products sold by the candy shops in Mississippi contained Schedule I controlled substances and analogues of controlled substances. In 2022, the DEA also received complaints that some of the products in the candy shops were making customers sick.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized over $1.8 million in cash from Deming’s home and additional cash and controlled substances from his businesses. Officers discovered that Deming knew his vape additives did not contain CBD; rather, they contained synthetic cannabinoids. This was evidenced by group chats in which Deming’s employees complained that the additives were too strong and could harm their customers. Despite this fact, Deming falsely labeled the additives as containing CBD.

In addition, during the course of the investigation, agents were able to determine that in May 2022, Deming sent an unindicted co-conspirator $2,200.00 to purchase 1 kilogram of 5F-AB-PINACA, a Schedule I controlled substance, for use in the Candy Shop’s vape additives, and that at the time of the transfer of funds, he knew that 5F-AB-PINACA was a controlled substance. The investigation also revealed that Deming’s gross sales of vape additive products containing either Schedule I controlled substances or their analogues totaled over $2 million.

Deming was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 19, 2023, and pleaded guilty on May 1, 2024. As part of the settlement in the case, Deming agreed to forfeit a yellow monster truck with oversized tires and a lift kit, as well as over $1.9 million.

“U.S. consumers are at risk when labeling is false and misleading,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin Fielder of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office. “Labeling is intended to provide information that can help consumers make informed decisions about what they purchase and consume. FDA is committed to pursuing and bringing to justice those who unlawfully disguise controlled substances as well-known consumer products sold to the American public.”

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Anessa Daniels McCaw, and Special Agent in Charge Justin Fielder of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations in the Miami Field Office.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Buckner and Lee Smith.