Dear Editor:

It was a violent weekend for Downey with a shocking multiple murder scene at a party that was well covered by the media.

While we may not be able to prevent all violence, we can demand our city leaders do their part to keep establishments with a proven track record of murders, prostitution, drug violence, and attacks on security guards out of our city.

I am representing several Downey residents in opposition to the ongoing plans to allow Ojos Locos to set up their bar in our high school’s zone. The violent crime that this bar attracts is proven and documented in dozens of news reports that go back over a decade involving stabbings, shootings, double homicides, drug murders, prostitution, and a sexual harassment case in which they paid out $700,000 to their victims, including a 17-year-old teenager that worked for them. Under the pretense of a family restaurant, they can and do hire 16- and 17-year-old girls as hostesses.

This establishment is being sued for wrongful deaths due to overserving intoxicated patrons resulting in drunk driving deaths. Their alcohol sales are always in the top rankings for bars in Texas. It’s all about alcohol sales and no regard to public safety with Ojos Locos.

There is much to be said for correlation with the amount of crime that follows where they set up in regardless of which state, proving it’s their bad business model that attracts a violent element. The scariest part is many of the serious incidents that occur at Ojos Locos go unreported to police and the magnitude of crime is even bigger than we know. Several online videos prove this to be true. Just Google Ojos Locos and Murders or Ojos Locos and multiple shootings (and stabbings), that will prove everything stated here.

Are we saying that Downey is crime free? No, but we don’t want to make our city the hotspot for the drug and thug element that has a pattern of being drawn to Ojos Locos. Is it wrong for us to think Downey is too good for Ojos Locos? No, we have worked hard to maintain Downey as a family-friendly city with a good image. Murders and violence in Downey are a shocking story, but do we want it to be our city’s norm?

We pay high rents and mortgages to live in Downey because we trust that Downey leadership will continue to make Downey stand out as a great city to live in. Why aren’t our leaders protecting Downey from this? Why was such a crime magnet of a bar allowed in our city as a restaurant? Who thought it was safe to put it next to our high school? How were they ever allowed to open with a restaurant license when they promote themselves as a bar in every state they open in?

Downey can be progressive and have a safe nightlife atmosphere while keeping our city family-friendly.. Our public safety isn’t for sale to slimy developers that have zero ethics. If Ojos Locos does invade Downey, everyone will know who and what they are and when the violence begins, just like George’s Bar, we will fight to be rid of them too.

Jennifer Alvarez
Downey