State Closes Bar Where 3 Were Slain

State officials on Thursday revoked the liquor license of a west end bar where three people have been killed and black tar heroin has been readily available, authorities said.

La Cascada, in the 4400 block of West 1st Street, was the third Santa Ana bar this year year to have its license revoked by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Statewide, the ABC has revoked only four other licenses.

“It’s an effective way of taking care of the problem locations,” Police Lt. Kenneth Hall said.

La Cascada was opened by Francisco Carbajal, who was arrested in August 1995. Carbajal, 52, later pleaded guilty to possessing 636 grams of heroin with intent to sell and is awaiting sentencing in Los Angeles, authorities said.

Since 1991, police have made dozens of drug-related arrests and responded to scores of calls, Hall said. In 1995 they were summoned to the bar almost 70 times for reasons that included gunshots, drunkenness and loud music, Hall said.

“The calls of service were doubling every year,” he said. Carbajal “was allowing drug dealers to come in.”

Three slayings occurred at the bar from October 1993 to February 1994. The first victim was a businessman who died in a robbery and carjacking. In another case, a man walked in and “just started shooting,” killing a customer, Hall said. The third happened in the back parking lot of La Cascada, and detectives believe it was drug-related.

Narcotics investigators said hand-to-hand drug deals took place behind the building, where a dealer would sit near the back door and pass the drugs to buyers outside. Pornographic films were shown in the restroom and mariachi bands kept nearby residents awake through the night, police said.

ABC and police investigators worked for almost four years to build a case that would allow them to revoke the bar’s liquor license.

“We made it a project,” said Santa Ana Officer James Tavenner, who patrols the west end.

After Carbajal’s arrest, his son, Francisco Carbajal Jr., ran the business. He tried to solve the drug-related problems by firing some employees, but by then the bar had become well known as “the place to go to get drugs,” said supervising ABC investigator Marianne Eckhoff.

“Initially, we didn’t intend to revoke the license. We just wanted [Carbajal] to be in compliance with our regulations,” Eckhoff said. “But it became a losing battle.”

About 10 days ago, authorities filed for a revocation and the younger Carbajal supported them, Eckhoff said.

Tavenner, standing in front of the bar Thursday, said, “This area will be a lot safer now.”

In March, authorities closed the Mazatlan Bar in the 3400 block of West 5th Street and the Gemini Bar in the 300 block of Harbor Boulevard.