POLICE RAID DOWNTOWN TOBACCO SHOP

PORTSMOUTH - Two men were arrested, and police seized thousands of bongs,
pipes, gas masks, hookas, carburetor tubes and chillums in a raid of a
Fleet Street head shop Thursday morning.

"Ivan Eaton can put up all the signs that he wants saying that these
products are for legitimate tobacco use, but we know that's a sham," said
Portsmouth Police Chief Brad Russ, speaking of the store owner at a press
conference Thursday afternoon.

"We're not going to tolerate this kind of conduct in our community. We're
going to move forward with the cooperation of the city attorney's office to
revoke his occupancy permit and shut his business down permanently in
Portsmouth."

Ivan O. Eaton, Jr., 47, owner of Up In Smoke 2, which opened in June on
Fleet Street, and his general manager, William F. Walsh, 37, surrendered to
police on a warrant Thursday.

Eaton, 47, of 6 Eaton Lane in Seabrook, and Walsh, of 39 Essex Drive in
Raymond, were each charged with one count of distributing drug
paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail and
a $2,000 fine.

The men were released each on $10,000 personal recognizance bail and
scheduled to appear in Portsmouth Oct. 17 for arraignment. Additional
charges may be forthcoming.

Police executed a search warrant Thursday morning. The warrant, approved by
the court Wednesday night, allowed police to seize all drug paraphernalia
under state statues.

Authorities said the items taken from the store are not legitimate products
for general tobacco products.

Police say over 2,000 items on sale for roughly $50 a piece were hauled
away by Thursday afternoon in over 54 moving boxes.

"None of this passes the straight face test," Rockingham County Attorney
Jim Reams said displaying a gas mask at a press conference at the
Portsmouth Police Department Thursday afternoon. "This is unacceptable.
There is no justification for it, and we are going to try and stop it."

Reams said he was particularly disturbed by the number of items he said
were "clearly" designed for children, displaying cartoon characters
including Crusty the Clown, Tweetie Bird, Donald Duck, the Smurfs and
sports teams.

Police also confirmed a safe was found inside the store. The contents were
not released.

"This is another example of where the Portsmouth Police Department is not
going to tolerate any situation that could put children and others at
risk," Russ said.

The items, seized in the joint investigation with the County Sheriff's
department, also included soda and beers with hidden compartments, scales
and detox formulas. The items ranged in price from $17 to $1,200 with a
total retail value of over $100,000.

"There is no legitimate use for a highlighter pen that contains in it a
small pipe," Reams said. "This will not be sold at any legitimate tobacco
store in Rockingham County or anywhere else in the state of New Hampshire.
These are the kinds of things there is no justification for. There is no
defense."

The store, which advertises the sale of tobacco accessories and more,
reopened for business Thursday afternoon with little more than cigarettes,
cigars and clothing items available for sale.

"The vast majority of the inventory in that store was drug paraphernalia,"
Reams said.

The inventory will be held by the police department until the trials are
concluded. They have requested the items then be destroyed.

A series of neighbor complaints about the type of products being sold at
that location and reports of teens loitering and littering in the area in
the early morning hours prompted the police investigation, Reams said.

Neighbors also alleged the use of marijuana outside the store, which is a
block away from Market Square.

Portsmouth Attorney Alan Cronheim, representing Eaton, said his client
plans to plead not guilty to the charge.

"The items that were seized are lawful items, he is running a lawful
business, and we're frustrated the police made the choice that they have,"
Cronheim said. "These items are for sale in a number of other businesses.
There is no law that bars their sale. Tobacco products at this point are
not illegal."

Eaton, who is also the proprietor of Leather & Lace in Seabrook, arranged
to disrupt traffic in that town to make way for a funeral procession for
his 11-year-old Rottweiler, Bear, who died of cancer. Eaton placed the dog
in the back of a horse-drawn carriage inside a custom-built coffin and
proceeded to the burial site with a Dixieland band performing behind it.

On Scene

Detectives in the Special Investigations Unit removed glass pipes and bongs
from the display cases, wrapped them in white paper and sealed them in
cardboard boxes. A sign adhered to the cashier's counter read, "Any
reference to anything illegal you will be asked to leave."

Outside, an empty city highway division box truck idled on the street lined
with small businesses. The truck, normally used to carry barricades
throughout the city, were used to haul away the evidence. Police remained
on scene for four hours recording every item. Neighbors gathered to watch,
sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes.

A sign on the front window read, "All products are for tobacco use only,"
and below another sign stated, "Must be 18 years or older. Must have ID in
hand."

The building permit issued by the city establishing retail sales and
tobacco products, specifically states the sale of sexual material and drug
paraphernalia is prohibited.

"Business shall not be a sexually oriented business as defined in article
XI of the zoning ordinance. The sale of drug related paraphernalia is
specifically prohibited pursuant to NH RSA 318:B."

According to state law, "drug paraphernalia" means all equipment, products
and materials of any kind which are used or intended for use or customarily
intended for use in growing, testing, storing, concealing, ingesting or
inhaling or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled
substance in violation of the chapter. It is not illegal to possess drug
paraphernalia in this state.

The store is located on the bottom floor of 80-90 Fleet Street, between
Congress and State streets. The McIntosh Condominiums buildings house 42
condominiums and rental units and six commercial units.

"Immediately he was open until 1 a.m. every morning," said a 54-year- old
neighbor who lives in the building and asked to remain anonymous. "There is
no other retail store in this city that is open that late."

Neighbors said groups of young people linger in the area, particularly at
the entrance to their residential building with 30-packs of beer at their
feet, then leaving trash in their paths.

"Forget the fact that they are selling drug paraphernalia, the courts will
sort that out, it has an impact on the building," said the 54- year-old
resident. "This is a residential building. Any operation that brings
nuisances, crowds, trash and noise at unreasonable hours is not acceptable
to the residents of this building."

James Thompson, 31, who lives in the building, said while he does not think
anything illegal is going on in the store, there is a lot of activity going
on in the alley behind the building.

"Kids are coming here for a purpose," Thompson said. "They're not too
bright, kids today. You have a crowd of kids come, one or two go in, the
others stand on the corner or behind the building. You know what they're
doing. You see them walk out, you hear the cough. You know what's going on."

Russ said the investigation is another example of the department's action
to preempt problems in the city to maintain the quality of life and public
safety in the city.

"Whether it's Up in Smoke or an unruly bar, gang activity or a housing
project that is causing problems for us, we act very aggressively in those
situations," Russ said.