Puyallup bar suspended, owner arrested for drug dealing
Jun 19, 2019, 3:16 PM
The owner of a Puyallup bar has been arrested following an investigation into drug deals based out of the business.
The Puyallup Police Department received a tip on Sept. 27, 2018 from a confidential source. That source said that drug dealing was happening at Johnny’s Bar & Grill, and that the owner was involved. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force was called in.
Since September, police conducted four undercover purchases of illegal drugs — a total of 44.7 grams of cocaine — at Johnny’s “from the licensee,” according to the WSLCB. Puyallup police served a search warrant on April 17 and discovered cocaine, meth, heroin, synthetic cannabinoids, and pharmaceutical Oxycodone.
The owner has been arrested and faces charges of: unlawful delivery of a controlled substance; unlawful possession of a controlled substance; unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board suspended the liquor license for Puyallup’s Johnny’s Bar & Grill Wednesday. The 180 day suspension (effective until Dec. 15) is temporary, but the WSLCB is seeking to permanently revoke the liquor license. It is the latest in a narcotics investigation into the establishment.
The WSLCB notes that this is the first emergency suspension of a liquor license in 2019. There were four such suspensions in 2018.
