EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A county judge has ordered the immediate closure of an East El Paso bar after authorities linked the business to hundreds of police calls, allegations of drug sales and repeated violence, including a fatal crash investigators say may have involved a patron who had been drinking there.

County Attorney Christina Sanchez obtained a temporary restraining order shutting down ‘Dirty Laundry’, described by authorities as a “common nuisance.”

The order was signed by 171st District Court Judge Bonnie Rangel and applies to the establishment at 3136 Trawood, Suites E-1 and E-2.

The order requires the business to close effectively immediately.

The County Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit against the bar’s owners and operators, naming 3136 Trawood LLC, Ortequi Ltd Texas Limited Partnership, Pro West Industries, Corp., Victor Fernandez, Jose Luis Ortega, and Blanca E. Ortega.

The legal action follows more than 280 emergency calls to the property over the last two years involving reports of drug trafficking, violent assaults and a fatal hit-and-run, officials said.

Under Texas law, a “common nuisance” is a place where people habitually go to commit crimes and where management knowingly tolerates the activity or fails to make reasonable efforts to stop it.

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An investigation involving the El Paso Police Department Upper East Regional Command, the EPPD DWI Taskforce, the Texas Anti-Gang Center and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission found what authorities described as a pattern of habitual criminal activity. Undercover agents reported that bar employees facilitated cocaine sales on multiple occasions.

Public safety is non-negotiable,” Sanchez said. “When a business knowingly permits violence and illegal drug activity, it endangers the families who live and work in the surrounding community. No establishment is entitled to operate in a manner that compromises the well-being of our residents.

The lawsuit also details a history of violence at the location, including assaults on peace officers and security guards.

Between February 2024 and March 2026, police generated 79 separate case reports tied to activity at the bar, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, terroristic threats and public intoxication, according to the lawsuit.

The establishment is also allegedly linked to a fatal motor vehicle collision on March 23, according to officials.

Witnesses told officers the driver involved in the crash had been drinking at Dirty Laundry before the collision. Over the past two years, law enforcement documented 24 separate DWI incidents in which individuals involved had reportedly been at or near the establishment, officials said.

Authorities also say the business routinely ignored state and local safety regulations. Dirty Laundry has been operating without a valid permit for “places of assembly” since July 2025, according to the lawsuit. Inspections by the City of El Paso Fire Marshal’s Office documented violations including inoperable exit signs and improperly secured gas tanks.

“Businesses, property owners, managers and their patrons share a collective duty to protect our fellow community members, including the critical obligation not to overserve individuals who may pose a danger to others by driving while intoxicated. When that duty is ignored, the consequences can be devastating,” Sanchez said. “My office remains committed to holding property owners and business operators fully accountable when their actions, or inaction, threaten community safety. By seeking closure of this business, we are seeking to remove a persistent source of criminal activity and affirming that this community will not tolerate operations that compromise public safety or enable unlawful conduct.”

A hearing is scheduled for April 7, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in the 171st District Court to determine whether the bar will remain closed while the case proceeds.

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