Felony charges dropped in case against owner of Galveston Hazy Daze smoke shops
By John Wayne Ferguson
Newsbreak
Mar 6, 2026
The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office on Friday dismissed two felony charges against the owner of a popular island gift store and smoke shop nearly a year after Galveston County sheriff’s deputies raided the business’ three island locations.
The DA’s office dismissed charges of money laundering and engaging in organized criminal activity against Shlomi Wolraich, according to court records.
The dismissal documents say the charges were dismissed “in the interest of justice.” No other explanation was given.
The district attorney's office didn’t immediately return a request for comment. Wolraich’s defense attorney Jonathan Zendeh Del confirmed the dismissal but declined comment.
The dismissals bring a sudden end to the charges born from last year’s trio of simultaneous raids of the Hazy Daze stores in Galveston’s Strand shopping district and along Seawall Boulevard.
In a complaint, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Organized Crime Task Force accused Wolraich of conspiring to sell illegal drugs and then laundering the profits of the illegal sales through other accounts connected to him.
Police said that two items purchased at the stores — a Micro Dose Magic Mushroom Pen and Mushie Conez, a mint-and-chocolate-flavored mushroom snack stuffed into an ice cream cone – contained illegal levels of tryptamine, a psychedelic compound.
The felony charges carried a potential penalty of up to 99 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Wolraich and five others were charged in connection with the case. Court records show that some of the co-defendants remain charged with felonies, while others have agreed to plead to misdemeanors. One of the defendants, Cassius Stinson, is now charged with a misdemeanor for possessing a device used to deceive a drug test. The charge is related to a novelty urine kit called a Monkey Flask that was sold in the store.
Another defendant, Brandon Bell, in February pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of delivery of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.
During a news conference announcing the charges, sheriff’s office officials and prosecutors accused store employees of selling illegal drugs over the counter and of making drugs available to minors. Neither accusation appeared in actual criminal charges filed against the employees.
Apart from the criminal case, Galveston County prosecutors have sought to keep $1.7 million that was seized from the business, as well as a huge volume of the store’s inventory. At the time of the raids, sheriff’s deputies were photographed using sledgehammers and pry bars to open an ATM inside one of the stores.
In filings seeking to undo the seizure, Wolraich’s attorney argued that the psychedelics at the center of the case were not actually controlled substances under Texas law.
Attorneys also argued that the seizure was “grossly disproportionate” to the alleged crime, which involved about $100 worth of merchandise.
The seizure case is still pending.
All three Hazy Daze locations are now listed as permanently closed.
1 comment:
So out of town head shops opened in Galveston. Sold their illicit drugs and paraphernalia during an election year.
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