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ST. LOUIS • A pastor from the Indianapolis area was sentenced this week to 11½ years in federal prison for his role in a multistate synthetic drug ring.

Robert Jaynes Jr., 46, was the pastor of the Irvington Bible Baptist Church at the time of his arrest in 2014.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Delworth said Friday that Jaynes presided over a small congregation, but some of those church members were involved in the conspiracy.

Jaynes admitted making and dealing synthetic cannabinoid products, sometimes known as K2, spice incense or potpourri, that were sprayed onto an herb-like substance and sold, his plea agreement says. They also imported the chemicals to make the drugs. Jaynes and his co-conspirators tweaked the chemical formulas for the drugs and labeled the products “not for human consumption” to try to stay ahead of state and federal laws, the plea says.

Workers, including at least one church member, were paid $100-$200 in cash a day to fill bags with the synthetic drugs, and were able to fill 5,000 to 10,000 bags a day, the plea says.

Jaynes and a co-defendant sold about $2.6 million in drugs through their company, West Strong Wholesale Inc. Both sides agreed that Jaynes should be held responsible for synthetic drugs equal to at least 90,000 kilos of marijuana.

Jaynes pleaded guilty March 29, 2016, to two charges: conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and their analogues, and a charge of conspiracy to introduce and receive misbranded drugs.

As part of his plea, Jaynes agreed to forfeit any interest in more than $40,000 in cash that was seized during the investigation, as well as more than 800 pounds of silver or silver-colored bars, coins and pieces of silver, court records show.

Jaynes was indicted along with 28 others in 2014 in an investigation that was sparked, in part, by a doctor’s concerns about health problems linked to the drugs.

Others also have been sentenced in the case.

The link:....................................................http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/indianapolis-area-pastor-gets-years-on-drug-charges-in-st/article_0ca9a0a8-ef22-5fe6-99c0-1d63f0bddd95.html