The owner of a local smoking and novelty shop was arrested Friday after police say they found drugs and a gun on him during a traffic stop in Fort Smith. His arrest comes a year after authorities raided his business during a drug investigation.
Jason Tuck, owner of the Outer Zone in Moffett, Okla., was transported to the Sebastian County Detention Center on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine and synthetic marijuana, as well as simultaneous possession of a firearm and drugs and refusal to submit to arrest, according to the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office.
Tuck was later released from jail on $35,000 bond. He has a court date set for Nov. 20, according to the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office.
The Outer Zone was the subject of a police raid last November concerning the illegal sale of synthetic marijuana, according to investigators.
Tuck, 39, was a passenger in the pickup truck that was stopped by deputies near the intersection of Wheeler Avenue and South A Street. The driver, Jessie R. Wilson, 58, was also arrested and faces charges of driving while under the influence of drugs, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies stopped the vehicle because the driver was allegedly breaking several traffic laws. After speaking with the vehicle's occupants, deputies called drug-sniffing dogs to the scene.
Tuck turned over to authorities a .45-caliber handgun before being searched. A search later revealed three ounces of methamphetamine in Tuck's front pocket, deputies said. Authorities also said they found about 50 packages of suspected synthetic marijuana and a pain pill on Tuck's person.
"We haven't caught that much K2 or synthetic marijuana here in the Fort Smith area or Sebastian County so that was the largest arrest we've done to date," explained Investigator Philip Pevehouse with the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office.
Tuck is the owner and manager of the Outer Zone, a store that advertises as selling smoking equipment and novelties. He also owns and operates Bizzaroed in Pocola, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies and drug task force members searched the Sequoyah County business last November while investigating the Outer Zone. Task force members said undercover officers purchased synthetic marijuana at the store.
Investigators believed a major producer of the substance in California sold $700,000 worth of synthetic marijuana to the owner of the Outer Zone chain, Sheriff Ron Lockhart said.
“Synthetic drugs are one of the biggest problems we have right now,” the sheriff said. “It’s worse than marijuana and methamphetamine because they think they can smoke it and it`s legal.”
At least one person was arrested for distributing the drug at the Moffett business at the time. Store employee Donnie Tuck, 40, of Alma, was arrested on three counts of distributing controlled dangerous substances, after he allegedly sold the synthetic marijuana to an officer.
“He actually told our agent when he bought it that, ‘This will get you high,’” said Tony Evans, Sequoyah County assistant district attorney and director of the Drug Task Force for District 27.
The synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia were seized from the store, according to the sheriff. They also searched for bath salts, which can be used as synthetic methamphetamine, Lockhart said.
The sheriff’s office’s goal is to keep the dangerous substances off the streets and out of the reach of kids, the sheriff said.
“Kids are using it. Adults are using it,” Lockhart said at the time. “We had a homicide the other day and we learned through that that they’d smoke synthetic. I don’t know if that played a role in it, but dang sure ain’t helping things.”
Synthetic marijuana, often referred to as ‘Spice’ or ‘K2′, is a substance that is often sold as “incense” and stimulates the cannabinoid receptors of the brain, although it does not give users a reaction similar to marijuana, police said.
Shana Fitzsimmons from Sallisaw has seen the effects synthetic drugs can have on the people who use it.
“I’ve seen people smoke it. I’ve seen people seize up on the floor from it – be puking from it,” she said. “It’s stupid.”
Those who abuse the drug may suffer rapid heart rate, vomiting and hallucinations, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It can also raise blood pressure and in few cases lead to heart attacks, the institute said.