Woman accused of giving bath salts to minor allegedly said she thought it was OK

A 24-year-old Batavia resident who allegedly gave bath salts to a minor did so, she reportedly told a DSS caseworker, because she thought the chemical was legal, "therefore it was OK."

Ashley R. Keene, of 244 Liberty St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Her alleged admission to giving bath salts to a 14-year-old girl are contained in court documents on file with Batavia City Court.

According to a DSS worker who made a statement in support of Keene's arrest, Keene said she didn't understand on May 28, Memorial Day, that giving a child bath salts was illegal.

Keene is the girlfriend of Jason D. Lang, 28, of 244 Liberty St., Batavia, who is currently being held in Genesee County Jail. He is accused of falsely reporting an incident for allegedly calling 9-1-1 to report gunshots at a local hotel July 2.

In court documents, a Batavia PD officer reports that in a jailhouse interview, Lang denied participating in giving the girl bath salts and says he warned Keene against it, but admits, according to the officer, of "having a problem with bath salts."

Lang has reportedly been involved in other bizarre calls to the emergency dispatchers, placing multiple calls to 9-1-1 one morning in late June and either he or Keene reported a toxic chemical odor at 244 Liberty St. in June that city fire later declared unfounded.

Lang is the former owner of The Laughing Buddha, 238 Ellicott St., Batavia, which was a head shop and tattoo parlor. The shop has been closed for a few weeks and is reportedly out of business.

In late May, Lang was arrested by State Police for allegedly calling the property owner of 400 Ellicott St. and telling the landlord that he was a "State Police detective." Lang was allegedly warning the landlord not to rent to 420 Emporium because, according to Lang, the business sold bath salts.

According to court documents, on May 28, the 14-year-old girl was given permission to go with Lang and Keene to a rib festival in Rochester. She was reportedly going along as a babysitter for Lang and Keene's daughter.

At about 5 p.m., her parents gave her permission to go home with them. On the way back to Batavia, Lang drove to Warsaw and stopped at a 420 Emporium location there.

The girl reportedly told officers that Lang gave Keene $100 to buy two packages of "Amp" (aka Amped).

When Keene came out of the store, according to the girl, she gave one package of the compound to Lang and kept one for herself. Lang, the girl said, got in the back seat and Keene got behind the wheel. Before driving away, according to the statement, Keene snorted a half line of the bath salt.

Jason slept in the back seat during the drive home, the girl said.

Upon arriving at 244 Liberty, according to the girl's statement, she got permission to stay with Lang and Keene overnight.

In the statement, the girl is reported to have said that Keene was going to do her hair and makeup for her last day of school.

Once home, the girl reported that Lang and Keene argued about "cheating and lying."

Then they decided to go to McDonald's and Tops for food.

When the group returned to 244 Liberty, Keene allegedly asked the girl, "do you want to do caffeine powder with me?"

The girl said she had never snorted anything before, according to the statement, and Keene allegedly showed her how to snort the powder.

At 10:30 p.m., Lang reportedly said he was hot and wanted to go for a walk. The girl also said they were going to look for Lang's dog, which had apparently run off.

When the got home, the girl took a swig from a Sprite bottle, according to the statement, that she later learned contained some "Amped" mixed in the bottle.

The girl said she started feeling hot. Keene, she said, got a bag of peas from the freezer and put them on her forehead. Lang asked her if she needed to take a shower. She declined the shower.

The group stayed up all night watching TV, the girl reportedly said. She said she couldn't sleep.

At 5 a.m., she started getting ready for school. 

She took a shower and Keene stayed in the bathroom during the entire shower, the girl said.

When she got out of the shower she said she noticed scratches on both of her forearms but didn't know how they got there.

Keene did the girl's hair and makeup.

When she got to school, she said, she wasn't feeling well. At about lunchtime, she started throwing up.

Her mother came and took her home.

According to the report, the girl didn't eat for two days.

Lang has previously denied selling bath salts at The Laughing Buddha, but has admitted to selling what is commonly accepted as synthetic marijuana, which Lang called incense and potpourri (previous coverage here). Just before his store closed, Lang said he had found a new kind of synthetic marijuana that was all organic and wasn't covered by a recent statewide ban on most substances known as synthetic marijuana.

After the jump (click on the headline) a press release from Sen. Charles Schumer on President Obama signing legislation making it illegal to sell (as a federal crime) many of the chemicals used in bath salts and synthetic marijuana.

Press release:

Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that President Obama has signed into law new drug legislation that will permanently ban the deadly chemical compounds marketed and sold as bath salts and incense in the New York State and the United States.

Schumer successfully fought to include three bills relating to synthetic substances – S. 409 (Bath Salts), S. 605 (Synthetic Marijuana) and S. 839 (Synthetic Hallucinogens) – as part of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. Schumer and his colleagues were able to pass this ban over the strenuous objections of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Schumer applauds President Obama today for his swift approval of the bill once it arrived at his desk for signature.

“President Obama’s swift approval of this federal ban is the final nail in the coffin for the legal sale of bath salts in smoke shops and convenient stores in New York State and throughout the rest of the country,” Schumer said. “This law will close loopholes that have allowed manufacturers to circumvent local and state bans and ensure that you cannot simply cross state lines to find these deadly bath salts, and I’m pleased that after a great deal of effort, it has become law.

"We have seen bath salts catalyze some of the most heinous crimes in recent months across Upstate New York, and the President’s signature ensures that the federal government can fight this scourge with a united front, across state lines and at our borders.”

Schumer’s bath salt legislation will specifically ban MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone) and mephedrone, the active ingredients in bath salts and are now being sold online, at convenience stores, and in smoke shops under names like Tranquility, Zoom, Ivory Wave, Red Dove, Legal Phunk and Vanilla Sky.

According to numerous reports, the chemicals found in bath salts cause effects similar to those caused by cocaine and methamphetamines, including hallucinations, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts. In one case a user was reported to have resorted to self-mutilation after abusing the substance. In several cases, users have died after overdosing or because of violent behavior.

Schumer’s legislation will make bath salts illegal in the United States by adding the active ingredients, MDPV and mephedrone, to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which classifies drugs that are illegal and cannot be prescribed under any circumstances. In addition to MDPV and mephedrone, there are 29 other substances that Schumer’s bill bans.

Over the past year, New York State has seen a drastic increase in both the use and the occurrence of destructive incidents involving bath salts. This new federal ban will significantly curb the accessibility of this life-threatening scourge.

Below are a list of all 31 substances that Schumer’s legislation would ban on a federal level:

A) Synthetic Marijuana:

1.      2-(3-hydroxycyclohexyl)phenol with substitution at the 5-position of the phenolic ring by alkyl or alkenyl, whether or not substituted on the cyclohexyl ring to any extent.

2.      3-(1-naphthoyl)indole or 3-(1-naphthylmethane)indole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring, whether or not further substituted on the indole ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the naphthoyl or naphthyl ring to any extent.

3.      3-(1-naphthoyl)pyrrole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the pyrrole ring, whether or not further substituted in the pyrrole ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the naphthoyl ring to any extent.

4.      1-(1-naphthylmethylene)indene by substitution of the 3-position of the indene ring, whether or not further substituted in the indene ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the naphthyl ring to any extent.

5.      3-phenylacetylindole or 3-benzoylindole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the phenyl ring to any extent.

6.      5-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)-2-[(1R,3S)-3-hydroxycyclohexyl]-phenol (CP-47,497);

7.      5-(1,1-dimethyloctyl)-2-[(1R,3S)-3-hydroxycyclohexyl]-phenol (cannabicyclohexanol or CP-47,497 C8-homolog);

8.      1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-018 and AM678);

9.      1-butyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-073);

10.  1-hexyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-019);

11.  1-[2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl]-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-200);

12.  1-pentyl-3-(2-methoxyphenylacetyl)indole (JWH-250);

13.  1-pentyl-3-[1-(4-methoxynaphthoyl)]indole (JWH-081);

14.  1-pentyl-3-(4-methyl-1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-122);

15.  1-pentyl-3-(4-chloro-1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-398);

16.  1-(5-fluoropentyl)-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (AM2201);

17.  1-(5-fluoropentyl)-3-(2-iodobenzoyl)indole (AM694);

18.  1-pentyl-3-[(4-methoxy)-benzoyl]indole (SR-19 and RCS-4);

19.  1-cyclohexylethyl-3-(2-methoxyphenylacetyl)indole (SR-18 and RCS-8);

20.  1-pentyl-3-(2-chlorophenylacetyl)indole (JWH-203).'.

B) Bath Salts

21.  4-methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone).

22.  3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).

C) Synthetic Hallucinogens

23.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-E).

24.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-D).

25.  2-(4-Chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-C).

26.  2-(4-Iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-I).

27.  2-[4-(Ethylthio)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine (2C-T-2).

28.  2-[4-(Isopropylthio)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine (2C-T-4).

29.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-H).

30.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-nitro-phenyl)ethanamine (2C-N).

31.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-P).'.