By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 58-year-old Hoover man who has been charged with allegedly selling synthetic drugs from his Alabaster convenience store is set to appear in the Shelby County Courthouse court on Feb. 4.

Ali Reza Samanifar, who lists an address on Pine Cliff Circle in Hoover, was arrested on May 7, 2014, by the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force, along with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Alcohol Beverage Control Board and charged with three felony counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.

The arrest came during the agencies’ Project Synergy Phase II, which was a national law enforcement effort targeting manufacturers and distributors of synthetic drugs.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted Samanifar on three counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance during its January 2014 session. According to the indictment, the suspect allegedly sold synthetic marijuana at the A&S Convenience Store at 630 First St. S.

In Alabaster on May 14, 2013, May 21, 2013 and May 23, 2013.

According to court records, Samanifar previously was arrested on three counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance for allegedly selling synthetic drugs at his store in May 2013. He was out on bond on the 2013 charges when he was arrested on May 7.

Samanifar was indicted on the 2013 charges in January, and currently is awaiting trial on those charges.

Samanaifar was released from the Shelby County Jail in June 2014 after posting bonds totaling $45,000.

Unlawful distribution of a controlled substance is a Class B felony. If convicted of the crimes, Samanifar could face up to 20 years in prison per charge.