The owner of The Party Store in Superior Township “failed to cooperate” with police during a drug investigation this month, a complaint filed Thursday with the state Liquor Control Commission alleges.
The commission suspended the MacArthur Boulevard store’s liquor license in August after investigators say they made undercover drug buys inside.
According to the latest allegation, Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies visited the store Sept. 6 to investigate reports that a few customers used state-issued food stamp debit cards, also known as bridge cards, to buy “marijuana and alcohol,” a sheriff’s department report said.
The Party Store's liquor license was suspended last month, and the store is now facing new allegations.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The cards are intended to be used to buy groceries and other food items.
When deputies arrived, an employee called the store’s owner, Ziad Abuziad, who told investigators if they hadn’t “seen anyone with drugs or alcohol,” they needed to leave, the report said.
When deputies told Abuziad they were allowed to be there, Abuziad said “he would find out and hung up,” according to the report.
Deputies asked an employee to call Abuziad back, and he told investigators he knew nothing about the allegations, the report said. He also said that if deputies thought the allegations were true, they should “make another raid,” the report said.
Abuziad apparently was referring to the execution of a search warrant July 31, when investigators say they seized an unregistered handgun, crack cocaine paraphernalia and drugs from an employee.
The sheriff’s office, which has launched a crackdown on crime in the neighborhood, submitted a report on the latest incident to the commission on Sept. 14, state officials said.
The commission canceled a hearing on the license suspension after the state Attorney General's office issued the complaint Thursday. It's the second complaint in about two months.
No other hearings have yet been scheduled.
Abuziad’s attorney, Jeffrey Lance Abood, who was notified of the complaint Friday, called it a “desperate move” to build a case against the store.
“It’s childish behavior on the part of the police,” Abood said. “By my client asking them what they’re doing in the store, it seems like their feelings got hurt and that’s why they brought this. This could constitute harassment.”
The sheriff’s department’s duty is to investigate reports of criminal activity, said Derrick Jackson, the department’s director of community engagement. The owner ordered deputies to leave the store, Jackson said.
“We have a duty to keep the community safe,” Jackson said. “If there’s criminal behavior going on, we’re going to investigate it. That’s not necessarily picking on someone.”
Questions or Comments? Contact Clinton Charles Van Nocker at clint@aboodlaw.com
The commission suspended the MacArthur Boulevard store’s liquor license in August after investigators say they made undercover drug buys inside.
According to the latest allegation, Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies visited the store Sept. 6 to investigate reports that a few customers used state-issued food stamp debit cards, also known as bridge cards, to buy “marijuana and alcohol,” a sheriff’s department report said.
The Party Store's liquor license was suspended last month, and the store is now facing new allegations.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The cards are intended to be used to buy groceries and other food items.
When deputies arrived, an employee called the store’s owner, Ziad Abuziad, who told investigators if they hadn’t “seen anyone with drugs or alcohol,” they needed to leave, the report said.
When deputies told Abuziad they were allowed to be there, Abuziad said “he would find out and hung up,” according to the report.
Deputies asked an employee to call Abuziad back, and he told investigators he knew nothing about the allegations, the report said. He also said that if deputies thought the allegations were true, they should “make another raid,” the report said.
Abuziad apparently was referring to the execution of a search warrant July 31, when investigators say they seized an unregistered handgun, crack cocaine paraphernalia and drugs from an employee.
The sheriff’s office, which has launched a crackdown on crime in the neighborhood, submitted a report on the latest incident to the commission on Sept. 14, state officials said.
The commission canceled a hearing on the license suspension after the state Attorney General's office issued the complaint Thursday. It's the second complaint in about two months.
No other hearings have yet been scheduled.
Abuziad’s attorney, Jeffrey Lance Abood, who was notified of the complaint Friday, called it a “desperate move” to build a case against the store.
“It’s childish behavior on the part of the police,” Abood said. “By my client asking them what they’re doing in the store, it seems like their feelings got hurt and that’s why they brought this. This could constitute harassment.”
The sheriff’s department’s duty is to investigate reports of criminal activity, said Derrick Jackson, the department’s director of community engagement. The owner ordered deputies to leave the store, Jackson said.
“We have a duty to keep the community safe,” Jackson said. “If there’s criminal behavior going on, we’re going to investigate it. That’s not necessarily picking on someone.”
Questions or Comments? Contact Clinton Charles Van Nocker at clint@aboodlaw.com
