Follow us on

Sunday, May 26, 2013 | 4:12 a.m.

Posted: 8:09 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012

Family suing chemical company over son's death after smoking K2

K2 death lawsuit
The family of a teenager who died after smoking fake pot has sued the metro Atlanta maker behind the drug.

Related

Peyton Palaio photo
Peyton Palaio, owner of Omerta Labs in Marietta.

MARIETTA, Ga. —

The family of a teenager who died after smoking fake pot has sued the metro Atlanta maker behind the drug.

In March, Chase Burnett,16, was found dead inside the family's hot tub. The boy had been smoking "spice," or synthetic marijuana.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant obtained a copy of the lawsuit claiming the people who owned and worked inĀ Omerta Labs made the product that killed Burnett.

Workers at Omerta Labs in Marietta were not happy to see the Channel 2 Action News crews Tuesday afternoon.

Diamant was looking for Peyton Palaio, Omerta's owner. He and his company are now the targets of the first-of-its-kind lawsuit filed by Burnett's parents.

"If you don't think it could happen to you then all you need to do is listen to us," said Chase's father, David Burnett, back in March

Weeks later the general assembly passed Chase's Law, banning known chemical formulas for fake pot.

The GBI raided Omerta Labs in July, but Diamant found the place was still open. The man who answered the door told Diamant Palaio wasn't there.

"This is a pretty big suit, and it's important that he speak to us. We got a story running tonight and I want make sure we get an opportunity to tell everybody's side here," Diamant told the man at the door.

Late Tuesday afternoon Palaio's attorney told Diamant by phone, "The product named in the lawsuit is not connected in any way to these defendants. The defendants do not manufacture or distribute synthetic marijuana. Therefore, the allegations against these defendants are false."

Burnett's parents sent Diamant a statement saying in part, "Holding manufacturers and retailers liable in civil litigation is another weapon against these irresponsible miscreants."

Diamant spent the day Tuesday digging into Palaio's past and found a mugshot taken after a 2008 arrest in Atlanta for heroin possession.

The chemical in the synthetic pot the Burnett family accuses Palaio of making was legal at the time of their son's death, before the passage of Chase's Law.

http://bcove.me/ox0xw59y

More News

 
Featured Articles
Ads By Google