He sold drugs like Head Trip, Grave Digger; no more prison time for him

A man who sold designer drugs made in Kansas through his Texas-based wholesaling business won’t spend any additional time in prison.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced Michael Myers, 37, of Montgomery, Texas, to the two years he’s already served for his role in the manufacture and selling of synthetic drugs, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said in a prepared statement. He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud after pleading guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors say two of Myers’ co-defendants, Tracy Picanso and Roy Ehrett, made illicit drugs, including substances that mimic stimulants and the active ingredient in marijuana, out of their Olathe-based business. Some of the drugs were mixed in buckets with an immersion mixer connected to a drill. Testers tried out the drugs and helped tweak the recipes, Beall said.

The drugs then were sold to distributors, including Myers, under names like Pump It, Head Trip, Black Arts, Grave Digger, Voodoo Doll and Lights Out, Beall said. Myers and another co-defendant, Michelle Reulet, turned around and sold the drugs through Bully Wholesaler, a Houston-based independent wholesaler and distributor they owned and operated.

Myers would meet Ehrett to hand over cash, Beall said. During one transaction in Oklahoma more than $100,000 was handed over.

Investigators collected e-mails and text messages sent among those involved in the drug peddling venture, Beall said. In one, Myers claimed the fake marijuana wouldn’t register on a drug test. In another, he said he was spending $600,00 to $900,000 a month buying products from Picanso and Ehrett.

The entire scheme racked up at least $16 million in sales in under two years and involved more than 15 companies in several states, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a previous news release.

Myers was indicted in April 2014, Beall said. Picanso and Ehrett are awaiting adjudication of their cases.

This story was originally published May 1, 2017 at 12:49 PM with the headline "He sold drugs like Head Trip, Grave Digger; no more prison time for him."