Guilty plea entered in synthetic marijuana case

Published 12:26 am Saturday, September 23, 2017

A Selma man pleaded guilty Friday to unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. According to Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson, 41-year-old Elia Samir Habib Sidom pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing synthetic marijuana, which is also known as spice.

Jackson said Sidhom pleaded in Dallas County Court before Circuit Judge Collins Pettway and received a 10-year suspended sentence for both charges that will run concurrent.

“We will keep cracking down on store owners and operators who sell spice to the public,” Jackson said Friday. “Spice is one of the most dangerous drugs on the streets. Minors especially need to be careful about purchasing spice.”

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According to court documents, Sidhom was the owner of Pure Service Station on Highland Avenue at the time of his arrest.

Two instances were documented where Sidhom sold synthetic marijuana at the gas station. The first is from April 15, 2015. According to a complaint from an officer, a confidential informant of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department went into the store and purchased $50 worth of synthetic marijuana from Sidhom.

A second complaint was recorded on June 2, 2015, and it happened the same way. An informant purchased $50 worth of synthetic marijuana from Sidhom.

Synthetic marijuana was made illegal in Alabama in 2011 after then Gov. Robert Bentley signed an executive order banning it statewide.