Third Suspect Arrested in Drug Sting

A third suspect has been arrested in connection with a state investigation into drug dealing at Besties, a popular Hermosa Beach pub, an Alcoholic Beverage Control drug agent said Thursday.

Dan Lee Manning, a 33-year-old patron at the Hermosa Avenue bar, was arrested Wednesday outside his Hermosa Beach home, said ABC Investigator Phil Henry. The self-employed plumber was charged with selling cocaine at the bar to an undercover agent last summer, Henry said.

Manning’s arrest is the most recent in a series stemming from a months-long undercover investigation at Besties and a number of other bars in the South Bay, Henry said. Last week, authorities arrested the bartender, Mark Winsborough, and an occasional maintenance man and regular patron of the bar, Rogelio Gutierrez Reyes. At least two more warrants are outstanding, Henry said.

He would not say whether arrests would be forthcoming from other bars targeted in the sting.

Besties owner Robert McAlinden has denied any knowledge of drug dealing in his establishment. A member of the city’s Restaurant and Tavern Owners’ Assn.--formed last year to counteract bad publicity after a police crackdown on underage drinking--McAlinden said that in the past few months he has done everything from hiring off-duty police as doormen to ordering closed-circuit video cameras to help discourage improprieties.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he said. “We’re a nice, family bar.”