By Kolby LaMarche

John Van Hazinga, the 48-year-old owner of Ridin’ High Skate Shop, faces escalating legal troubles as his decades-old storefront says goodbye to Burlington.  

Ridin’ High Skate Shop opened in 2003 at the corner of Battery and Pearl streets Van Hazinga and Samantha Steady, meant as a dedicated space for longboarders, skateboarders, and the local counterculture community. 

The small, graffiti-covered storefront quickly became a cultural landmark with its distinctive yellow-and-black exterior, custom-built decks, apparel, and a rooftop used for music gatherings and skate sessions.

But Van Hazinga’s 2020 felony conviction for distributing marijuana from the Burlington business has been compounded by a fresh arrest last month on aggravated assault charges, including a hate crime enhancement. Van Hazinga was, for the felony, sentenced to be on probation for five-years, court records show. 

The marijuana case originated in the summer of 2018, when Burlington Police Department (BPD) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched an investigation into Ridin’ High. Community reports alleged sales of marijuana to juveniles, prompting undercover operations. 

BPD detectives made five controlled purchases of marijuana and THC-infused edibles directly from Van Hazinga at the store’s counter, visible from police headquarters across Battery Park. 

Court documents further revealed a broader operation: over 50 marijuana plants at Van Hazinga’s Underhill residence, more than five kilograms of processed pot, homemade edibles produced by co-owner Samantha Steady, and $67,000 in cash seized from the shop and a rural camp in Keene, New York.

Van Hazinga faced a federal indictment on August 22, 2019, with 10 counts including conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, manufacturing over 50 plants, and using his business and home for drug felonies. Steady was charged with six counts. 

Raids on August 6, 2019, targeted the store, Underhill home, and Keene camp, yielding additional evidence like hallucinogenic mushrooms and digital scales. Steady was released on conditions, including no contact with Van Hazinga and drug testing; he was detained initially due to flight risk and community danger concerns. 

Supporters, at that time, erected a “Free Big John” banner at the shop and launched a Change.org petition with over 1,100 signatures, citing Vermont’s shifting cannabis laws—medical use legalized in 2011, recreational in 2018—against federal prohibitions.

In June 2020, Van Hazinga pleaded guilty to one felony count of distributing marijuana, including to minors. 

Van Hazinga credited Alcoholics Anonymous, counseling, and personal reflection for his reform, telling the court he had abandoned substance use. The case highlighted federal-state tensions over cannabis, with prosecutors emphasizing sales to children and open dealing near schools.

Ridin’ High endured post-sentencing, but Van Hazinga’s legal shadow persisted.

Late last month, days after the shop’s forced closure due to a landlord eviction over his unauthorized basement living—Van Hazinga was arrested following a violent altercation at Battery Park, just blocks from his former store and BPD headquarters.

Witnesses reported a verbal dispute at the bandshell escalating when Van Hazinga allegedly advanced aggressively, removing clothing and uttering racial slurs.

As the unnamed victim reached for a gun in his backpack, Van Hazinga seized it, struck him multiple times in the head, and chased him into the BPD lobby. Officers ordered him to drop the weapon; he complied after a struggle requiring pepper spray. The victim was treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center for head injuries.

Van Hazinga, represented by public defender Austin Howard, pleaded not guilty on October 27 in Chittenden County Criminal Division to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime enhancement. 

Howard argued self-defense, noting the victim brandished the gun first per witnesses. Judge Timothy C. Doherty ordered pretrial detention without bail, citing the assault’s severity and Van Hazinga’s priors, including the 2020 marijuana conviction and 2009-2018 drug offenses. A weight-of-evidence hearing was set for later in November 2025.

As of November 10, 2025, Van Hazinga remains in custody at Chittenden County Correctional Facility according to Burlington Police. 

His planned Ridin’ High reopening in Montgomery Center—a larger former bank space—may soon open, Van Hazigna says. 

Prosecutors in the assault case have invoked his federal probation, potentially triggering violations.