Drug Charges Dropped Against Twilight Boutique Owners

Drug charges against the owners of Twilight Boutique, which used to operate on Prospect Road, have been dismissed, although the court said prosecutors may refile them.

Husband-wife Store owners Sean and Sherry Lightner of Columbia Station, both 36, and employee Shane Spohn, 26, of Parma Heights, were all charged with felony drug trafficking after a police raid on the store March 2, 2012.    

Linndale police, who spearheaded the raid, said the 586 packs of "herbal incense" -- sold under names like K2 and Spice -- that were confiscated in the raid contained an analog of five chemicals banned by the DEA last year. 

The products are marketed as herbal incense, but kids and young adults roll the vegetable matter -- which is treated with chemicals -- into cigarettes and smoke them for what they call "a legal high."

K2 and other synthetic marijuana disappeared from the shelves briefly after the ban, but were replaced by similar products containing slightly different chemicals.

Linndale Sgt. Tim Franczak said lab tests showed the products Twilight Boutique were selling contained an "analog chemical" that was substantially similar to the banned ones.

"That's why we have the federal analog law," he said. "We're trying to get ahead of the chemical curve."

But lawyers for the defendants bashed the analog law, saying the chemicals found in the confiscated products were not specifically banned.

As a result, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams dismissed the charges.

However, Maria Russo, spokeswoman for Prosecutor Tim McGinty, said that if the chemicals become illegal, the county retains the right to re-file charges.

The DEA banned the chemicals after growing evidence the they were unsafe and have led to thousands of emergency room visits. 

Twilight Boutique moved out of its Prospect Road storefront at the end of May.