Crime & Safety

Tobacco Leaf Location in Pa. Sold Synthetic 'Spices' to Teens, Police Say

The Tobacco Leaf's sister location in Newton, Pa., was raided Wednesday after a narcotics investigation led by Northampton Township Police Department. 

Law enforcement officials raided The Tobacco Leaf Wednesday evening after an undercover investigation revealed the shop was selling synthetic “spices” to juveniles, police said.

The State Street shop was raided after a narcotics investigation led by Northampton Township Police Department.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police from Northampton, assisted by Newtown Borough Police, seized about $10,000 worth of drug paraphernalia from the Tobacco Leaf, according to Northampton Detective Bill Klein.

Police got a search warrant for the raid after they determined the business was selling drug paraphernalia and synthetic “spices” to juveniles from Northampton Township, police said.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to police, the "spices" are synthetic marijuana.

During the raid, law enforcement officials seized various paraphernalia, including 177 pipes, 21 grinders, 70 scales and approximately 300 packages of an assortment of spices, Klein said.

Although the paraphernalia was on display, customers had to ask specifically for the spices, which were marked “not for human consumption,” detectives said. Clerks would retrieve the spices from underneath the counter.

Prices for the spices were $20 to $40 and were called Orgasmo, Bizarro and Funky Monkey, among other names, police said.

When customers paid for the spices, the money was placed in a separate area, not in the register, police said.

Police said during their undercover investigation, officers witnessed juveniles under the influence who would purchase spices.

Holland resident Deborah Kiernicki was arrested in conjunction with the investigation, police said. According to police, Kiernicki would drive teens to the Tobacco Leaf, purchase spices for them and allow them to smoke the spices at her home. Police said she also bought beer for the teens.

She has been charged with corrupting the morals of a minor and providing alcohol to minors, police said.

Charges are pending against the owners of the business, Klein said.

The Tobacco Leaf in Lawrenceville is located on Route 1 behind the Mercer Mall. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.