Des Plaines store owner accused of threatening customers arrested, police say

The owner of a Des Plaines store that sells ingestible hemp products threatened customers with a toy that looked like a real shotgun Thursday, police said, leading to a lengthy standoff with officers before his eventual arrest.

Daniel J. Nardo, 33, of the 900 block of Beau Drive in Des Plaines, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of disorderly conduct.

The initial confrontation occurred about 1:40 p.m. inside Up, 1173 S. Elmhurst Road, Des Plaines police said in a news release. Up is promoted as a cannabis dispensary but isn’t licensed by Illinois to sell the drug. The store’s website indicates it sells products legally considered industrial-grade hemp rather than the typically more-intoxicating marijuana.

A Mount Prospect woman called police and said she and a friend had left the store after seeing Nardo ingest a gaseous compound and hold up the facsimile weapon, according to the release.

Police blocked off the area and then spent hours trying to persuade Nardo to go outside, police said.

Nardo complied about 5:15 p.m. and was taken into custody, police said.

Police searched the store and found several replica guns, including one resembling a long gun, and empty containers of nitrous oxide, according to the release.

Nardo was processed and released. He is scheduled to appear in the Skokie branch of Cook County circuit court July 10.