Police raid 3 vape shops in Westmoreland, confiscate drug-related items

Police raided three vape shops in Westmoreland County Thursday, confiscating illegal drug-related items, authorities said.

The raids took place at EZ Tobacco & Vape in Delmont, Vape & Smoke City in Hempfield and The Vape EXcape in Latrobe. It was a joint effort by local and state police, as well as Westmoreland County detectives and the state Attorney General’s Office.

No charges were filed in any of the searches Thursday. Authorities declined to release specifics about the items they seized from the stores.

Michelle Hoge said she is unhappy authorities took glass pipes from the Latrobe shop, which she said is owned by her boyfriend, Bill Adreon. She blamed the raid on the upcoming election and said she plans to stay open.

“We buy all our stuff in Pa.,” she said. “We never knew the stuff wasn’t legal. We weren’t here to do anything wrong.”

Adreon said he paid sales tax to the state on everything bought for the shop.

“The state collected money on my stuff and then took it,” he said.

No one at the other two stores could be reached.

Delmont police Chief T.J. Klobucar said investigators found illegal items and makeshift beds at EZ Tobacco & Vape on Greensburg Street.

“They modified things in there so they could live in the establishment,” he said.

The chief said police confiscated illegal drug-related items as part of an overall three- to six-month investigation spurred by complaints the department got about the shop selling controlled substances to minors and underage people across the area.

“The biggest thing is it’s our children … going in there and buying this stuff,” he said.

The police operation was preceded by several undercover purchases at shops in the area in which authorities bought illegal items, including prerolled joints containing marijuana, according to a statement from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.

County detective Tony Marcocci said authorities seized large quantities of items containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana. The businesses were selling legitimate products, as well. The items confiscated are being sent to the state police crime lab for testing, he said.

Klobucar said the two people living at the Delmont shop were using a propane camp stove to cook. The store is in a building with a pizzeria and is across the street from the police station. Both people there were from other countries, he said.

Borough officials got involved in the situation because of the code and zoning violations.

“We want to let it be known, we don’t … want these establishments in our community,” he said. “We’re not going to put up with this kind of stuff.”

It’s the second raid operation at a vape shop in as many years by county detectives and municipal police.

Authorities photographed and collected evidence at PA Vapor & Glassroom on Route 22 in Murrysville on March 15, 2023. The operation was the culmination of nearly a year of investigative work that stemmed from local high school students being found with vape and THC pens and anonymous complaints to police about minors purchasing illegal products at PA Vapor.

They reported seizing more than 33 pounds of THC in various forms, including leaf, wax, edibles and vape cartridges, and 20 pounds of psilocin-infused chocolate bars, according to court papers. Psilocin is a hallucinogen present in psychedelic mushrooms. The search followed six occasions when undercover officers reportedly bought items that contained controlled substances.

Five people — two owners of the shop and three employees — were arrested a year after the raid on accusations they were selling items containing drugs. Their cases are pending.