Boone Police teamed up with the Watauga County High School, Western Youth Network and Watauga Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative to conduct compliance checks on establishments in Boone that sell electronic cigarettes and vapor liquid.
The purpose of compliance checks is to ensure that businesses are not selling vapor products derived from tobacco to persons under the age of 18, which is prohibited by state law.
During these compliance checks, Lieutenant Danny Houck and Investigator Candace Peck led the effort, checking 10 establishments that sell vapor products derived from tobacco. 4 of the 10 establishments passed the compliance check.
The following establishments had an employee sell a vapor product that contained nicotine to a minor during these compliance checks on September 26, 2017:
- Mad Vapes at 240 Shadowline Dr. A6
- Cosmic Karma Vapor at 174 Boone Heights Dr.
- Smokes N More at 178 Southgate Dr.
- Boone Tobacco at 276 Watauga Village Dr. Unit I
- A & D Vapor at 2711 NC Hwy 105
- Smoke Rings at 1126 Blowing Rock Rd.
The following persons were charged with Selling Vapor Product Derived from Tobacco to a Person Under the Age of 18 as a result of this operation:
- Colson Thomas Miller, 20
- Forrest McDaniel Shouse, 21
- Matthew Shane Hardin, 34
- Salaheddine Eddiba, 33
- Tu Minh Nguyen, 20
- Jordan Nicole Reisterer, 20
Each defendant was issued a State Citation mandating an appearance in Watauga District Court on Nov. 21, 2017.
Western Youth Network and Watauga Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative partners with the community to prevent and reduce the misuse of alcohol, marijuana, prescription medication and tobacco by youth through awareness, advocacy, and action. Watauga Substance Abuse Prevention and the Boone Police Department would like to thank the many businesses that were in compliance with the law during this compliance check operation. These stores did their part in preventing the sale of tobacco products to minors.