Woman, 71, Arrested For Selling $5K Worth Of Fake Pot: Cops

SPRINGFIELD, IL — A 71-year-old central Illinois woman is accused of selling $5,000 worth of synthetic marijuana to undercover authorities at a store in Springfield. She's the eighth person to be charged in the ongoing joint federal and state investigation into the controlled substance, which has been blamed in the deaths of three people over the past few weeks.

Letha Dean, of Salisbury, Illinois, allegedly sold 520 packets of synthetic pot to an Illinois State Police investigator at Mystic Enhancements, a New Age store in Springfield, according to The State Journal-Register. She was arrested following the sale, and a search of the premises discovered around 1,445 more synthetic pot packets, the report added.

Dean waived her preliminary hearing Monday and was being held in Sangamon County Jail. Federal officials told the Journal-Register that the investigation is continuing and more arrests are likely.

According to the criminal complaint, she had been investigated for selling the substance since 2015, the report stated. In February 2015, Dean allegedly sold 25 packets of synthetic marijuana for $1,000 to an undercover federal agent, the report added.

More Patch Coverage:

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• Synthetic Weed Tied To 6 Cases Of Severe Bleeding In Illinois
• Bleeding Eyes, Ears Associated With Fake Weed: Illinois Health Dept.

In March 2016, suspected synthetic marijuana was found while investigators executed a search warrant, the report stated. Dean's home also was searched, and more of the suspected susbstance was discovered there, the report added.

State health officials have received reports beginning last month of more than 100 people suffering internal bleeding caused by synthetic marijuana, which goes by the names K2 or spice. Most of the cases have been around Chicago and Peoria with most of the victims between the ages of 25 and 34 years old.

The first Illinois cases of severe bleeding were reported March 7. Victims have reported bleeding gums, blood in the urine and other symptoms.

In at least one case, rat poison was found in synthetic pot sold at a Chicago convenience store. That synthetic marijuana also contained another substance banned by the FDA.

More via The State Journal-Register

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