Medina, N.Y. (WHAM) — Two men are facing felony charges for selling cannabis without a license at the Hemp House, according to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

The store on Main Street in Medina was sealed Nov. 5 by OCM officials following a six-month investigation that led to the seizure of a large quantity of cannabis and other products, the sheriff’s office said.

“It’s just a matter of keeping the community safe; that’s the bottom line,” said District Attorney Susan Howard.

Howard said reports from the public prompted the investigation, and the sheriff’s office executed search warrants Nov. 5 at both the store and the Medina home of the shop’s owner, 38-year-old Mitchell Kwandrans. In total, authorities seized over 64 pounds of high-grade cannabis flower, 264 pounds of cannabis edibles, 97 THC vapes, six pounds of marijuana and more than a pound of mushrooms.

“All that has been confiscated,” Howard stated. “We also found a high amount of cash, $96,000, that we feel are proceeds from the illegal sales that we have confiscated.”

Kwandrans is charged with four counts of first-degree criminal possession of cannabis, the sheriff’s office said. One of his employees, Marcus Verratti, 40, of Medina, was arrested and is facing two counts of the same charge.

“I am definitely pro small business, and I want to help people prosper in the county,” Howard said. “But we can’t let them sell products that aren’t regulated and that are illegal.”

13WHAM asked Howard if the owner of the store was trying to obtain a license.

“Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of that,” he explained. “I hope that they were trying to get a license, but I know they didn’t have one.”

Howard said the county is cracking down on shops operating illegally, and this is the fourth investigation of its kind with criminal charges.

“Three of the stores are closed, one of them was allowed to remain open, selling legal things,” Howard said. “I would say to the community that we are watching and we are going to make sure that these places are operating properly and the products they sell are safe.”

Both suspects have been issued appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in court next month. OCM has not yet responded to inquiries about whether Hemp House had applied for a license.

13WHAM attempted to reach the suspects to request a comment on this report but has not heard back.