Man charged for barricading himself inside vape shop in Des Plaines, Illinois

A man is facing misdemeanor charges after police say he barricaded himself inside a vape shop on Saturday morning.

Leanard G. Puscasu, 26, of Des Plaines, was charged with misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault and criminal property damage.

Des Plaines police officers responded to the Vortex Vape shop in the 1500 block of Rand Road around 9 a.m. for an armed person barricaded inside the store.

It was alleged that Puscasu entered the shop, locked the doors behind him, and began walking toward the back, where he was confronted by a lone employee. During the interaction, it was further alleged that Puscasu pulled out a box cutter from a display case and told the employee to leave the shop, which they did. Police said he was already armed with a crowbar.

Following a brief standoff, Puscasu was taken into custody after surrendering to police.

Puscasu was cited and released from police custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 1 at the Skokie Courthouse.