The owner of a smoke shop in Zion was arrested and accused of selling drugs out of his store and also randomly brandishing a machete at different customers, telling one that he was going to “cut your head off.”
The Zion Police Department responded on April 16 to a call of an aggravated assault at The Ocky Way Smoke Shop, 2109 Lewis Avenue in Zion.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said a victim reported that the owner and manager of the store accused him of doing magic and then threatened him with a machete, prompting the victim to flee.
Officers responded and spoke with the victim who said that he had been in the shopping plaza where The Ocky Way Smoke Shop was located while waiting for his food to be ready at a restaurant when he decided to pick up some products from the smoke shop.
The victim entered the store, selected a few products and went to check out, McConnell said.
The owner and manager, later identified as Saleh H. Saleh, 33, of Chicago, took a photograph of the victim’s identification card that he handed to him.
Saleh told the victim he had a photo of his identification and was going to go to his house that night. Saleh pulled out a machete, pointed it at the victim and said, “I am going to cut your [expletive] head off,” according to McConnell.
Saleh allegedly began yelling at him and accusing the victim of using magic against him.
The victim left the business as Saleh continued screaming and then followed the victim to their van and began accusing the victim of having people inside his van, McConnell said.
The victim took a video of Saleh as he fled and described the machete as being approximately two feet long with a brown handle in the shape of brass knuckles with smooth edges.
Officers identified Saleh as the one in the video based on prior contacts with him.
One of the prior contacts involved a similar incident that occurred at The Ocky Way Smoke Shop on February 23.
A victim called 911 to report that someone had pulled a machete on them and the victim believed the offender was on drugs, McConnell said.
During that incident, officers learned that two people went into the store together when Saleh became upset and started yelling at them to leave and then pulled out a machete from behind the counter while still screaming at the group, McConnell said.
Saleh told police that the two people came into his store and were asked to leave but denied grabbing the machete and threatening the victims.
He showed police surveillance video, which showed the verbal argument and then Saleh grabbing and brandishing a machete, McConnell said.
Officers asked Saleh to send them the footage but he said he could not send it through his cell phone as he believes the government would hack it and they are watching him through his cameras and tracking his cellphone conversations.
Officers learned that the victim on February 23 had gone to the store to purchase $30 worth of marijuana from Saleh and that is when the dispute started, McConnell said.
Saleh told police he only had $35 dollar “8th” packages to sell and they asked him about the sale of marijuana, which he admitted that he was selling cannabis out of the shop despite not having a license to do so, McConnell said.
The Zion Police Department also performed multiple controlled buys from The Ocky Way Smoke Shop, including two where Saleh sold the confidential informant marijuana from inside the shop.
One of those occasions included blue pills, which were marked “M-30,” that were purchased from an employee of The Ocky Way Smoke Shop directly in front of the store. They tested positive for fentanyl and ketamine, McConnell said.
On another occasion, the confidential informant entered The Ocky Way Smoke Shop and purchased marijuana from Saleh and then exited the store and purchased white round pills, which tested positive for fentanyl and ketamine, from an employee, McConnell said.
“This Defendant is using his legal vape and tobacco store as a font for the illegal sale of cannabis and at the very least allowing his employee to sell ketamine and fentanyl in the form of pills that are specifically manufactured for the purpose of mimicking the appearance of real pharmaceuticals which is obviously concerning,” McConnell said.
“This Defendant has a history of violence and a history of failing to abide by Court orders, which is obviously concerning with the facts and circumstances of these cases where this Defendant has now utilized a machete to threaten three separate victims and went so far as to take a picture of one of the victim’s identification cards before specifically threatening to come to his house, that night, and cut his head off,” McConnell said.
Saleh is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing the machete with the intent to use it against another.
He is charged with two counts of possession of a weapon with a previous conviction for a forcible felony, a Class 2 felony. He is additionally charged with manufacturing or delivering 500-2,000 grams of cannabis, a Class 2 felony.
“Based on his actions and conduct in these cases, his statements to police and the victims which seem to show some form of disconnect from reality, which is incredibly concerning when that disconnect is attached to a convicted felon wielding a machete, it is clear this Defendant is a real and present threat to anyone that walks into his shop and there are no conditions or combination of conditions this Court could impose that would mitigate that threat,” McConnell said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Saleh pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the request.
An attorney for Saleh argued during a detention hearing that the incidents were “all mental health” related and that he needs mental health treatment.
Saleh remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 8.