Four Fulton Men Plead Guilty to $6.6M K2 Conspiracy

Four Fulton, Missouri men have pleaded guilty to their roles in a $6.6 million synthetic cannabinoid trafficking and money-laundering conspiracy that flooded Callaway County with mislabeled K2 sold as incense and potpourri. Shawn Michael Browning, 26; Timothy Christopher Sandfort, 30; Brandon Derek Rader, 32; and Joshua Adam Sheets, 30—all of Fulton—admitted to their involvement in a mail fraud and money-laundering conspiracy spanning from December 18, 2012, to July 16, 2015.

Browning, Sandfort, and Rader entered their guilty pleas on the same day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth, while Sheets pleaded guilty earlier on December 20, 2016. Each man faces steep financial forfeitures: Rader and Sandfort must surrender $4,544,700 to the government, reflecting their direct contributions to the conspiracy’s profits. Browning and Sheets must forfeit $2,112,142 each, tied to their share of the operation’s $6,656,843 in gross proceeds.

The group is part of a larger network of seven co-defendants who have now admitted guilt. Dara Leanne Shirley, 30, of Fulton, pleaded guilty to money laundering, while Casey Dewayne Miller, 32, of Columbia, and Billie L. Bruce, 36, of Jefferson City, admitted to distributing synthetic cannabinoids. These operations ran through a series of businesses designed to mask illegal drug sales as legitimate retail.

Front companies included First Stop Last Stop Pawn & Aromatherapy, Inscentives Resale, Inscentives Auto, Esscentials Resale, and S&J Tobacco—some holding state licenses and posing as resale shops or auto dealerships. These outlets purchased over 251 shipments of K2 from co-conspirators in California and Nevada, delivered via FedEx and UPS. Locations in Auxvasse, Fulton, and Holts Summit served as key distribution hubs.

The synthetic cannabinoid packages were deliberately mislabeled as ‘incense,’ ‘aroma therapy,’ or ‘potpourri’ and stamped ‘not for human consumption’—a lie intended to dodge federal drug regulations. In reality, the products were marketed and sold for human use as a legal high. This deception allowed the ring to operate for years under the radar of law enforcement.

The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver and investigated by a broad coalition including the DEA Task Force in Jefferson City, DEA offices in Sacramento and Reno, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Missouri State Highway Patrol, MUSTANG Drug Task Force, and multiple local law enforcement agencies across central Missouri. Sentencing hearings are pending, but the guilty pleas mark a significant blow to one of the region’s most lucrative synthetic drug networks.

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