MANSFIELD — The owner of a convenience store raided by state and local police last month is being charged with unlawfully distributing marijuana vapes and other offenses, according to court records.
Amine Laatabi, 46, the owner of Mansfield Convenience at 214 Rumford Ave., is scheduled for arraignment Monday in Attleboro District Court on a summons.
His store was raided June 5 by local detectives, members of the Massachusetts State Police Illegal Tobacco Task Force and agents with the state Department of Revenue and the Massachusetts Lottery Commission.
The raid came after an investigation into complaints going back to October that marijuana vapes were being sold from the store, including to Mansfield High School students, according to an affidavit filed to obtain the search warrant.
The mother of one student told police her daughter was hospitalized after a suffering a seizure from synthetic marijuana allegedly purchased from the store. The mother gave police a THC cartridge taken from her daughter, whose name is redacted from the document.
During the course of the investigation, an undercover state trooper purchased both tobacco vapes and a marijuana vape, according to a police report and the affidavit.
The only store licensed to sell marijuana in Mansfield is reLeaf, in a plaza on School Street across from Mansfield Crossing.
In addition, the convenience store has been cited by the health agent for selling cigarettes to a girl. The cigarettes did not have a valid Massachusetts tax stamp on the package, although it had one from New Hampshire, according to the police report.
Prior to the raid, police were conducting surveillance and ended up arresting two local men, including a Mansfield police intern, on marijuana possession and related charges.
The intern, Thomas Hemmendinger, 21, was terminated from his internship and pleaded innocent. The other man, Matthew Hottleman, 22, is free on bail and was scheduled to be arraigned July 14.
The Sun Chronicle attempted to call Laatabi on Friday. A man who answered the phone and identified himself as Laatabi did not respond when asked for comment. The line went dead and a message left on his voicemail was not returned Friday afternoon.
No lawyer was listed for him in online court records.
At the time of the raid, a man who identified himself as the owner disputed the allegations. “That’s people talking. People can say whatever they want. I don’t know what they have for proof,” he told The Sun Chronicle.
When they searched the business, police say they seized almost a half-pound of marijuana in six bags, 16 THC vape pens, three THC cartridges, over three dozen THC edibles, 64 packs of cigarettes with New Hampshire tax stamps and several flavored vape devices, according to the search warrant return.
Laatabi faces charges of unlawful distribution of a vape device, unlawful possession of vape devices and edibles, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, unlawful sale of flavored tobacco and selling cigarettes with out a Massachusetts tax stamp.
David Linton may be reached at 508-236-0338.
