VENTURA : Alleged Drug Deals Threaten Bar License

For the first time in Ventura County history, prosecutors are trying to seize and resell the liquor license of a bar because the owner allegedly peddled drugs there.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Lane ruled Monday that police could remove the license of the Los Amigos Restaurant and Bar, 2515 Ventura Blvd., Oxnard.

The ruling came after Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox presented testimony that the owner of the license, Damaso Flores, used the establishment for drug deals. Flores was sentenced to prison after he pleaded guilty last month to drug violations in Santa Barbara County for trying to sell two kilograms of cocaine to federal agents.

Lane will hold another hearing before the action is final, however, because Flores’ mother-in-law, Isabel Banuelos, is contesting the action. Banuelos claims that she loaned Flores the money he used to buy the license, which cost $41,000.

“It’s not right that we should suffer for my husband’s mistakes,” said Banuelos’ daughter, who also is named Isabel. She said she is seeking a divorce from Flores and that the restaurant remains open even though the license has been suspended.

Fox said the court will have to determine whether the mother-in-law has any standing. If the district attorney’s office prevails, the license will be sold through the California Department of Beverage Control and the proceeds split among the Drug Enforcement Administration, the state and the district attorney’s office.

“I think it will be excellent deterrent, especially in Oxnard where a lot of this stuff goes on,” Fox said. “This is a very good message to some of the local bar owners not to tolerate this kind of behavior. If they do, their license is on the line.”