Grovetown police charged the owner of local vape shops for continuing to sale his products to minors.
On Friday, members of the Grovetown Police Department executed a search warrant at Harlem Tobacco and Vape located at 110 Harlem-Grovetown Rd. Suite I, in reference to the continued sale of Tobacco and Vape related products to minors, a press release says.
The owner, Yousef Jabar Humaidi, was previously cited on Feb. 8 for the Sale of Tobacco to Minors after investigators made multiple purchases from the business utilizing confidential informants, police said. The investigation was launched after complaints were received from concerned parents of minor children who had purchased tobacco and vape products from Humaidi at both Harlem Tobacco and Vape and HI 5 Tobacco and Vapor.
After Humaidi was cited in February, investigators again received information from a concerned parent stating that the owner had contacted multiple juveniles, through a group chat, advising them that he had been “set up” and not to come to the business for a while.
Last week, another concerned parent contacted the Grovetown Police Department stating that they had discovered their underaged child was purchasing tobacco and vape products from Humaidi as recently as last week, according to Grovetown Police Chief Jamey Kitchens.
As a result of evidence received during the second investigation, Humaidi was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of Sale of Tobacco to Minors and two counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, both misdemeanors.
“The City of Grovetown Planning and Development Office has been made aware of the investigation into Mr. Humaidi’s businesses and will be reviewing the license for each establishment,” Chief Kitchens said in the release.
