MS Coast councilman resigns, addresses decision to plead guilty in federal drug case

Biloxi Councilman Robert Leon Deming III resigned from his Ward 4 seat Tuesday after 10 years and addressed the decision during a press conference at City Hall.

With his girlfriend and daughter by his side, Deming said that his time serving the city that he loves ended at 5:30 p.m.

Deming made the announcement six days after pleading guilty to a federal drug charge involving the sale of synthetic cannabinoids in vape products sold at his CBD and kratom stores in Mississippi and North Carolina. The nine stores are called the Candy Shop and remain open.

A special election to fill the remaining term of his Ward 4 seat will be set in within 45 days of his departure, the Secretary of State’s Office said.

“For those that have been around me, and for those that know me, and those that have been through this with me, know the gravity of the decisions that I’ve been forced to make, the choices that affect my family, my friends, employees and so many others,” he said

“It’s unfortunate that given the totality of circumstances, I have entered a plea of guilty to a federal offense that’s classified as a felony, and as such, I stand before you, members of the city that I love, the city that I’ve given my heart and my sweat to, the city that I call home,” and announce my resignation effective at 5:30 p.m.

Deming addressed his time on the council as well.

“Well, it’s been 10 years that we’ve been working together to make Biloxi better, and I think we have,” he said. “In such a short time, we have traveled a long ways from where we started here in Biloxi. I, for one, will never forget walking the streets of Ward 4 to earn the trust and the faith of the constituents. Along the campaign trail, I met some amazing people, heard some inspiring stories, and was ultimately given the honor to represent them and help achieve their goals.”

Deming also spent time thanking his constituents and others he worked with at City Hall.

“The past decade, along this journey,I have been given another honor, the honor of working with the entire spectrum of Biloxi at city hall,” he said. “I was able to work with the well established names of Biloxi steeped in the tradition and history of this great city. I have been able to work with the new and up and coming members ready to make their mark.

“I’ve worked with old money, (and) young entrepreneurs. I’ve worked with the people grasping onto the past and the people reaching for the future. I’ve worked with people standing on principal and those that have run headfirst into a fight no matter what we are fighting for.

“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together as a city” and said he knows “the current leadership, both old and new, maintain that promise of greatness that will continue within the city.”

Deming is now awaiting sentencing in August on the federal drug charge.

MS Coast councilman’s plea date set in drug conspiracy case. What happens to his seat?

During his federal court hearing earlier on May 1, Deming admitted to selling vape products that contained Schedule I controlled substances.

As part of a two-year investigation, federal agents determined that Deming had personally paid for a kilo of the Schedule 1 drugs that he had added to vape products sold at the stores.

MS official pleads guilty, admits buying kilo of drugs for CBD and kratom sales in MS, NC

Deming opened his CBD and kratom stores in Mississippi and North Carolina in 2019, and federal and state drug agents started investigating alleged criminal wrongdoing at the stores a year later.

The investigators launched the investigation after they learned that some of the products had made customers sick and that some employees of the stores told Deming that the additives put in the vape products were too strong for customers.

Despite the warnings, Deming continued to sell the drug-infused vape products at the Candy Shop stores.

The sale of such products brought in as much as $2 million in sales from the stores, authorities said.

Prior to his September 2023 arrest, state and federal drug agents seized over $1.8 million in cash from Deming’s home and a vehicle there and thousands more from various bank accounts under Deming’s control. That included an money in an account for his law firm.

Though the federal charge Deming pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence ranging from 5 to 7 1/2 years in prison.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed two additional charges, one for drug conspiracy and another for the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in a federal investigation.

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