ASHTABULA —
The two men arrested on Friday at the Blue Dragon in Ashtabula Towne Square on Monday were released on personal recognizance bonds following arraignment in Ashtabula Municipal Court.
Richard K. Leavitt of Ninevah Road, Ashtabula, faces three charges: two counts of complicity to trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony; and trafficking in drugs, a third-degree felony.
Leavitt is the owner of Blue Dragon, where state and law enforcement served a search warrant Friday morning as they sought evidence of the store selling illegal synthetic drugs.
Leavitt’s long-time employee, David A. Nottingham, of Harmon Road, Ashtabula, faced two aggravated trafficking in drugs charges, a fourth-degree felony.
Leavitt was represented by Attorney William Bobulsky, while Nottingham requested a public defender.
The men appeared before Magistrate Jon Field, who set Nottingham’s total bond at $20,000. Leavitt’s bond was set at at a total of $35,000.
Bobulsky told the magistrate that his client, Leavitt, had no prior criminal record, is 65 years old, has been married 28 years, been in business for more than 30 years and was a lifetime resident of the county. Based on all those factors, Leavitt did not represent a flight risk, Bobulsky stated.
“They are good guys,” said Leavitt’s wife as she and Nottingham’s wife left the courtroom Monday morning. Both women expressed complete surprise at the bust that brought Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Ashtabula City Police, Ashtabula County Sheriff and Trumbull Ashtabula Group officers to the store Friday morning. The officers were looking for cannabinoids, a class of synthetic drugs that became illegal last fall with passage of H.B. 344, which closed a loophole that previously allowed sale of the dangerous substances.
The wives, who did not want to be identified by name, said the Blue Dragon has been a mainstay business at the mall for nearly as long as the mail itself has been in business. Leavitt started his business at the mall in a kiosk selling air-brushed T-shirts. As business grew, he committed to increasingly larger spaces and expanded the lines. The store’s current location is in the east wing, where very few shops remain.
Law enforcement closed the shop on Friday, and a civil suit filed by the Ohio Attorney General in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court seeks to keep the shop closed for a year, claiming that it is a “nuisance.”
The AG’s office on Monday said in an email that is declining to comment on the amount of the drugs that were seized during the search warrant execution on Friday.
Preliminary hearings on the matter have not been scheduled. The case will remain in Ashtabula Municipal Court until bound over to the grand jury.
Local News
Related Photos
-
DAVID NOTTINGHAM faces two felony charges related to a raid by state and local law enforcement authorities at the Blue Dragon on Friday. He was arraigned Monday in Ashtabula Municipal Court and released on personal recognizance bonds. CARL E. FEATHER
-
RICHARD K. LEAVITT awaits his turn before Magistrate John Field in Ashtabula Municipal Court Monday morning. Leavitt, owner of the Blue Dragon, faces three felony charges related to a raid on his business on Friday. State and local law enforcement officers were looking for illegal synthetic drugs. Leavitt was released on three personal recognizant bonds. CARL E. FEATHER
Discussion
Blue Dragon owner, employee released on bonds
- Local News
-
-
Conneaut man accused of using duct tape to secure girlfriend
A Conneaut man face charges after he reportedly used duct tape to lash his combative girlfriend to a pole in the basement of their Sandusky Street home, police said.
-
FirstEnergy seeks reason for massive Ashtabula County power outage
Humid weather may have played a role in a malfunction that shut down electrical service to a large chunk of Ashtabula County late Tuesday morning, officials said.
-
Ashtabula County I-90 speed limit jumps to 70 mph July 1
As promised, the speed limit on Interstate 90 that bisects Ashtabula County will jump in little more than a month, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
-
Ashtabula City Council says no to multi-unit apartments
After a passionate hour of debate at a public hearing Monday night, City Council unanimously voted against approving zoning changes at 1936 Carpenter Road.
-
Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame adds one of first African-American U.S. Marines from Ashtabula
One of the first African-American U.S. Marines, 70 years after his service in World War II, has been selected for the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.
-
Chardon school shooting victims’ families sue charity
Relatives of three teenagers killed in a northeast Ohio school shooting filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a charity that maintains a trust fund set up first to benefit the victims’ families and also to support the well-being of students and others in the affected community.
-
GOTL gets ‘likeable’ on Facebook
Village police officers are taking a new approach to an old problem — finding wanted criminals.
-
New facility in Ashtabula Plaza offers digital X-rays, ultrasounds
People needed an X-ray need not look far, thanks to University Hospitals’ new, state-of-the-art imaging facility at UH Ashtabula Health Center, 2131 Lake Ave., in the Ashtabula Plaza.
-
Stretch of Rt. 193 open, another to close
A section of Route 193 in Sheffield and Kingsville townships closed for repairs has reopened, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District Four office in Akron.
-
Ashtabula Brass Band presents free concert tonight
The Ashtabula Brass Band will present a free spring concert at 7 tonight in the auditorium at Kent State University Ashtabula.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Conneaut man accused of using duct tape to secure girlfriend
