Lt. Steve Arrasmith, of the drug task force, said officers typically bought 1/4 ounces of heroin from Quinn for $700 and most of the purchases occurred in public places. He called Quinn “a mid-level range” drug trafficker who drove numerous vehicles and preferred to meet clients in different locations.
“He was a significant target,” Arrasmith said. “Hopefully, this gets some of the heroin off the streets.”
He said Quinn was “a pretty well-known” drug dealer whose customers sometimes traveled to Butler and Warren counties to make their purchases.
Quinn bought the bar at 1714 Tytus Ave. and named it Yes and No’s Bar & Grille, though the bar’s owner is listed as Lori Quinn, his wife. Arrasmith said Lori Quinn hasn’t been charged, though the investigation is continuing. None of the heroin purchases by the undercover agents were made inside the bar, Arrasmith said.
When police searched Quinn’s home, they found more than $70,000 in cash, and police confiscated four vehicles: a 2002 Suzuki, a 2009 Cadillac, a 2003 Dodge and a 2006 Dodge, all believed to have been used to transport heroin, Arrasmith said.
Those who live near the bar are thankful police are stepping up drug enforcement in the area.
Ted Doughman, who lives just down the street from the bar, said he didn’t see many people entering the bar. He was told during a recent Neighborhood Watch meeting that the bar was going to close.
He wants his neighborhood to be quiet and safe and hopes the charges against Quinn reduce the number of heroin overdoses in the city.
“It’s destroying lives and people are dying,” Doughman said Thursday morning while painting his railing. “We can’t give up the fight.”
Another neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he patronized the bar twice, but quickly realized it wasn’t a “neighborhood bar.” He said the bar was open Wednesday night. On the bar’s Facebook page on Monday, it said the bar was looking to hire a bartender.
While he never saw drug activity inside the bar, he said there were rumors that drugs were available there.
“But that’s true in every place,” he said.
The location on Tytus Avenue has been numerous restaurants and bars over the years, according to city records. It was vacant for several years.
There is a twisted trail of paperwork associated with the bar. The name of the corporation is Yes and Nos LLC, and Lori Quinn is listed as the agent, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.
But Marvin Huff applied for a liquor license for the bar and was rejected on Feb. 11, 2015, according to the Ohio Liquor Board. His license was approved on June 26, 2015, the board said.
On June 26, 2015, Huff was listed as the agent on the bar’s Ohio Department of Taxation vendor’s license, but the name was changed to Yes and Nos LLC on July 6, 2015. Both phone numbers listed on the vendor’s license have been disconnected.
Quinn has been indicted on eight counts of trafficking heroin, one count of possession of heroin and one count of having weapons under disability, according to the seven-page indictment obtained by the Journal-News.
He will appear in Butler County Court on Dec. 8, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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