Containers of bath salts, a synthetic cocaine, sit on a counter at Hemp's Above in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Synthetic substances that mimic marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs are making users across the nation seriously ill, causing seizures and hallucinations so intense that thousands of them seek help at emergency rooms.
(AP Photo/The Patriot-News, Chris Knight)The drug's official name is alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone. But on the street, dealers call it "gravel" or "flakka."
Michael Ray Mangum, 43, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for what prosecutors called an extensive distribution conspiracy centered around the drug, which was sold throughout Sullivan County in Tennessee.
Mangum admitted to distributing more than 4,000 grams of the drug in question, which bears many similarities to so-called "bath salts" as well as cocaine. He made trips to suppliers in North Carolina, and sold it out of motels in the Sullivan County area, according to the Mangum's plea agreement.
Though Mangum was a user of flakka, he told investigators that "he was in it for the money," according to a news release.
Mangum isn't the only person who has gone to federal prison as part of this trafficking investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney. Austin Stallard received 121 months, Johnny Stallard received 180 months, Phillip Mullins received 151 months, Johnny White received 120 months and Evelyn Vickers received 110 months in prison.
Mangum's federal prison sentence will run consecutively to a number of other sentences in Sullivan, Greene and Washington Counties.