Liquor Board will crack down on First Street bars in Snohomish

SNOHOMISH — First Street has long been known for free-flowing booze, bar hopping and the rowdiness that comes with it.

The problem has persisted here for more than a century. It dates back to the days when First Street was known as “whiskey row” and drunken rage resulted in an infamous Wild West-style shooting.

On a cold October night in 1895, a notoriously ornery barman, “Omaha Bill” Wroth, slammed shot after shot before drawing his pistol and hotly firing three rounds.

An equally soused “Texas Jack” Kinney took a slug to the chest. He bled out on the muddy street, steps away from the Gold Leaf Saloon.

More than 120 years later, the city’s alcohol-fueled troubles continue.

Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board Capt. Tom Dixon said the agency is now targeting downtown Snohomish for enforcement efforts in a region that spans five counties and part of a sixth.

The city is also stepping up with $17,000 to pay for police officers to patrol First Street on foot in 2016.

Having 17 establishments licensed to serve alcohol within a few blocks makes First Street a popular location for bar hopping. But the tendency for patrons to go from one place to another makes it tough for bartenders to spot those who’ve had too much to drink.

“We’re going to be paying a lot of attention to the city of Snohomish when it comes to overservice,” Dixon said.

The renewed focus on enforcement came after a crowd reportedly turned against police and liquor officers on First Street during the early morning hours of Sept. 19.

The blurred brouhaha resulted in two officers being assaulted, three arrests and two bars being ticketed.

It apparently started when two plainclothes liquor agents confronted Justin Holland outside the Time Out Sports Bar on First Street, according to police and Liquor Board reports.

Earlier in the evening, officers noticed Holland, 26, staggering and slurring his speech at Piccadilly Circus, an English-style pub. Bartenders cut him off, so he’d wandered down the street.

A crowd gathered as officers questioned him. They started yelling and demanding to take pictures of the officers’ badges, according to reports.

Officer Dee Johnson saw potential danger and called for police backup. She and her counterpart, Mark Shipman, reported that a man blocked their way and shoved Shipman as they tried to leave. The man, Sean Lowe, 25, of Bothell, was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault.

The uproar continued as all available Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to quell the rowdy crowd of about 50 people. Deputies wrestled Holland to the ground, booking him on suspicion of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and third-degree assault.

“I can still hear his head hitting the pavement,” his father Danny Holland said.

The 56-year-old father is accused of kicking a deputy during the struggle. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault.

“I don’t know what happened,” Danny Holland said. “But I do know I didn’t kick anybody.”

The blow to Deputy Evan Twedt’s head resulted in a concussion and a few headache-filled days spent off duty, recovering. The Hollands and Lowe are waiting for trial dates for their cases.

The Hollands and others insist it was Shipman who started the shoving. They say there’s video to prove it.

David Osgood, a Seattle attorney who represents the owners of the Time Out Sports Bar and Piccadilly Circus, hopes to track that footage down. Both bars had undercover liquor officers inside doing an investigation when the brawl broke out. Both bar owners were ticketed and are fighting the violations, which could result in their liquor licenses being revoked.

Osgood called the Liquor Board’s enforcement efforts “heavy-handed.”

Since 2010, Piccadilly has racked up 10 tickets from the Liquor Board with six violations and four warnings. During the same five-year period, officers cited Time Out eight times, including six violations and two warnings.

That’s more than all of the other bars along First Street combined. Stewart’s Place and the 907 Grill and Lounge have received two violations each since 2010. During that time, the Oxford Saloon and the Repp each got one violation and a warning. Liquor officers have since 2010 issued one violation to the American Legion Earl Winehart Post 96.

That’s why Snohomish Police Chief John Flood and Captain Dixon point to the Time Out and Piccadilly for most of the troubles that stem from overservice along First Street. They say they are tired of taking reports of disorderly conduct, assaults, drunk driving and urinating or vomiting in public.

History of problems

Flood said when he took over as the city’s top cop in 2012, the overservice problem was mostly under control. His predecessor John Turner cracked down on bars that had been troubled since “Omaha Bill” settled the score with “Texas Jack.”

Snohomish historian Warner Blake said the violence continued into the 1970s, when police officers described First Street as a “war zone” and said they counted on a fight every night.

In the past 20 years, at least five alcohol-related deaths have been linked to First Street. The most recent was in 2002, when a Bothell firefighter was killed in a fight outside a bar that later closed down.

Flood started noticing an uptick in drunken troubles not long after a 24-year-old man was stabbed on a First Street sidewalk in August 2014.

In an effort to control the situation, the city spent $8,300 to put foot-patrol officers downtown on Friday and Saturday nights, from May through September. A police supervisor met monthly with bar owners and workers to find solutions to common problems.

For a while, bouncers were texting their counterparts at other bars when someone was cut off or kicked out. That way, a tavern down the street didn’t end up serving the problem patron more booze. That effort apparently fell off and chaos erupted on Sept. 19.

The Liquor Board was in town doing a sting in response to a complaint about drug dealing at Piccadilly. Officers didn’t turn up evidence.

They did, however, agitate customers and those behind the bar, Piccadilly owner Geoff Wall said. “People start getting pissed off with the Liquor Board in here,” he said. “It’s costing me money.”

At a tense meeting with law enforcement officers and bar workers in late September, Time Out co-owner Brent Nerby echoed a similar sentiment. He said he felt attacked by the state agents.

Now, Time Out is facing a shutdown.

The state wanted to revoke its liquor license, citing co-owner Christopher Stoneberg’s criminal driving history, before the bar was ticketed for overservice as a result of the September incident.

Chief Flood has asked the Liquor Board to not renew the bar’s liquor license, which expired in October. It is operating under an extension while the state makes a decision.

The Time Out has been a drain on police resources, Flood said. Since 2009, he tallied almost 50 incidents involving the bar’s patrons, including 16 assaults.

Snohomish’s overservice problem stems from certain types of drinking establishments, not the number of bars along First Street, Flood said. Time Out and Piccadilly tend to cater to a younger crowds and often stay open later than other bars — a recipe for trouble, he said.

Wall, who opened Piccadilly 10 years ago, said bars are often unfairly blamed for bad behavior on First Street. Sometimes problem patrons come from another bar and cause a problem in front of his place, he said. On other occasions, his staff cuts someone off or stops them at the door and they make a ruckus outside.

Spotting when someone has had too much to drink is also difficult, Wall said. First Street is known as place to party and some people intend to get drunk.

“We’re doing our best not to overserve. But you can’t stop everybody,” he said.

Bartenders can keep track of how many drinks they’ve served but a customer could have been drinking elsewhere.

“You never know,” Wall said. “Sometimes you don’t have any idea until they have that one extra that is the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

He is fighting his September ticket for a worker drinking on the job. He said the guy isn’t an employee. The ticket, which would be his fourth this year, could result in the loss of his liquor license.

To prevent future problems with overservice in Snohomish, the city has taken steps to make bartenders’ jobs easier. Two parking spaces are now designated for taxis at First Street and Avenue A. That way bartenders have a place to coordinate a safe ride for patrons who need one.

Mayor Karen Guzak said the year-round patrols should curb overservice and help build successful relationships between law enforcement and the bars. A cleaner, more sober First Street would be a welcome relief for a city that has had an alcohol problem since its early days.

Officers will start the effort just in time for partying on New Year’s Eve.

Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports