Customers arriving for a routine shopping trip instead found themselves watching a man allegedly get high on cans of air duster outside a local store.
By the time deputies arrived, several customers had already complained.
According to the report, a deputy responding to a call about a man abusing intoxicants found him slumped forward in a chair outside the business with a can of air duster in his hand.
As the deputy pulled into the parking lot, the man reportedly dropped his phone and struggled to pick it up without falling over.
The man was identified as Curtis Baber.
The deputy told Baber it probably wasn’t a good idea to be huffing air duster in public. According to the report, Baber acknowledged what he was doing, apologized, and said he would leave.
Instead, he was detained while deputies gathered more information.
Employees told investigators the incident had started before Baber even arrived.
According to store staff, Baber called ahead and specifically asked whether the store had air duster in stock.
When he arrived, employees say he located roughly 25 cans of the product, purchased them, walked outside, and allegedly began inhaling the contents.
Workers said at least five different customers entered the store to complain about what they were seeing outside.
Because of the disruption to customers and the public, deputies arrested Baber on a disorderly conduct charge.
The incident occurred at a Dollar Tree in Chesapeake.
When deputies later inventoried Baber’s belongings at the Lawrence County Jail, they reportedly found three unidentified white pills inside his backpack, along with 24 cans of air duster.
The pills were submitted for testing.
Investigators also discovered Baber had multiple prior drug-related convictions.
According to the report, those prior convictions elevated the inhalant-related charge to a fifth-degree felony under Ohio law.
He was booked on charges of Disorderly Conduct by Intoxication and Abusing Harmful Intoxicants.
The Hidden Danger of “Huffing”
Many people associate drug abuse with illegal narcotics, but inhalants remain one of the most dangerous and overlooked forms of substance abuse.
Products such as air duster, spray paint, glue, and cleaning chemicals can produce a brief high when inhaled. However, medical experts warn they can also cause seizures, heart failure, loss of consciousness, permanent brain damage, and sudden death.
Unlike many drugs, inhalants are legal household products that can often be purchased at ordinary retail stores.
That accessibility is one reason law enforcement and addiction specialists continue to warn about their misuse.
In this case, deputies say a trip to buy office-cleaning supplies turned into a felony arrest after a man allegedly used the product for something entirely different.