An El Paso judge ordered a bar, the site of alleged criminal activity, to remain closed until the owners can prove they “can provide a safe environment for the public,” authorities said.
Judge Bonnie Rangel of the 171st District Court granted a temporary injunction on Monday, May 4, against the owners of Dirty Laundry, located at 3136 Trawood Drive in East El Paso. The bar owners must meet a court-ordered “long list of security and training requirements,” El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez announced in a news release.
Rangel had issued a temporary restraining order on March 27, shutting the bar down after the El Paso County Attorney’s Office filed a civil lawsuit alleging pattern of habitual criminal activity.
The criminal activities cited in the county’s lawsuit include allegations of drug dealing, violent assaults and dozens of drunken driving arrests, including a fatal hit-and-run crash.
The parties listed in the county’s lawsuit are Dirty Laundry’s owners and operators, including 3136 Trawood LLC, Ortequi Ltd Texas Limited Partnership, Pro West Industries, Corp., Victor Fernandez, Jose Luis Ortega and Blanca E. Ortega.
Rangel, in her May 4 order, said the owners can reopen the bar if they can prove they “can provide a safe environment for the public,” the news release states.
“This order is intended to ensure that business owners, particularly bar operators, maintain safe environments for their customers and the broader El Paso community,” Sanchez said in a statement. “Closing a business is not the end goal in these situations; however, if an establishment repeatedly requires law enforcement call outs or turns a blind eye to safety concerns, appropriate steps must be taken to address the situation before a serious event occurs.
“It is now up to the business to ensure those steps are taken.”
What are the judge’s requirements to reopen El Paso’s Dirty Laundry bar?
Rangel found that the bar was a probable “common nuisance,” a legal term used to describe a property where criminal activity occurs regularly, and management fails to take sufficient action to prevent it, the news release states.
El Paso Police Department officers must verify that the bar has followed every step of the court’s order before it can reopen, Sanchez said.
The requirements the bar owners must meet to reopen include:
Security and law enforcement presence
Staffing and training
Cooperation with police
Surveillance and oversight
The owners must also pay a $7,500 bond to the court to guarantee they will follow these rules, the news release states.
A hearing for a permanent injunction, which could extend these rules for another year, is scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 28 in the 171st District Court at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
History of alleged crime at El Paso bar
Law enforcement began investigating Dirty Laundry bar over “various public complaints and criminal violations, including a referral by the El Paso Police Department officers of refusal for inspection of the bar,” the county’s lawsuit states.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, El Paso Police Department Upper East Regional Command and DWI Taskforce, and the Texas Anti-Gang Center conducted the investigation.
The lawsuit alleges that bar staff sold cocaine to undercover officers. The bar has been connected to several drunk driving arrests, including “24 reports involving driving while intoxicated that stemmed from the establishment from Feb. 1, 2024 to Feb. 25, 2026,” the lawsuit states.
El Paso law enforcement and emergency medical services responded to 285 emergency calls at the bar from Feb. 1, 2024 to March 18, 2026. The calls included assaults, criminal mischief, fights, public intoxication and minor drinking alcohol.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso bar Dirty Laundry to remain closed until owners meet court orders
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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