JEFFERSON PARK — A Far Northwest Side business owner who was targeted with hate speech earlier this summer is now facing felony charges and an emergency closure on his smoke shop.
Arcan Abuhashish, owner of Supreme Smoke Shop and Event Space, 4766 N. Milwaukee Ave., was arrested Sept. 8. Police and prosecutors said he illegally sold cannabis to undercover officers three times in August at his shop, which is only licensed to sell tobacco products, according to city records.
Abuhashish faces two felony charges and one misdemeanor count of cannabis possession and selling it at his business.
Police confiscated 135 grams of cannabis and a loaded handgun when Abuhashish was arrested, according to court records. Abuhashish has a valid gun permit, police said. He appeared in court Friday and was released on his own recognizance, according to court records.
The same day Abuhashish was arrested, the city’s Department of Buildings shut down his shop with an emergency order after inspectors found a series of violations with the building, according to inspection documents. It was still closed as of Wednesday afternoon.
The city cited Supreme Smoke Shop for having rotten or broken columns, no smoke or carbon monoxide detectors and for storing flammable materials. Plumbing and electrical issues that violated city codes were also found, according to the closure order.
In a letter to other city department heads, Department of Buildings Commissioner Matthew Beaudet wrote the violations show the store is “dangerous, hazardous and endangers the public health” and is closed until the necessary permits and fixes are received and made.
Abuhashish declined comment.
The charges and business trouble come after the shop has faced a series of other problems. Last month, someone broke in and tried to burglarize the store in the early morning, police said. The burglar broke the shop’s front glass, but nothing was taken, police said.
The shop, which opened two years ago, has also been the target of bigoted vandalism.
In June, Abuhashish’s business was spray painted with swastikas. Brodie Blakeslee, 57, who lives nearby, was charged with two felony counts of a hate crime and held on a $20,000 bail.
The man, who prosecutors said has white supremacist affiliations, used to work for Abuhashish, washing the shop’s windows and walking his dog while the owner was working, Abuhashish previously told Block Club.
Blakeslee is still in jail, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.