Crack Squad Arrests 2 in La Jolla : Managers at Bully’s, Same Old Place Held in Drug Sales

The managers of two longtime La Jolla eating and drinking establishments were arrested on suspicion of drug charges early Saturday morning in what officials announced as the first major case for a new and small team of street narcotics officers and state alcohol inspectors.

Officials said the arrests were the culmination of a three-month undercover operation that began when the law enforcement agencies were tipped by an informer that routine drug transactions were being conducted inside the Same Old Place tavern.

Arrested about 1 a.m. were Jerry Henson, manager of the Same Old Place, and Patricia Hurlbut, manager of Bully’s Restaurant. Both establishments are in the 5700 block of La Jolla Boulevard, in the popular Bird Rock area.

Cocaine Possession, Sales Alleged

Henson, 36, was booked on suspicion of three counts of sales of cocaine to an undercover officer and one count of drug possession. He was taken into custody on $15,000 bail, police said.

Hurlbut, 48, was booked on suspicion of possession of drugs and was taken to the Las Colinas Jail for women in Santee in lieu of $2,000 bail.

The two managers were arrested inside the Same Old Place by undercover officers who had obtained a search warrant about midnight from Municipal Judge Janet I. Kintner.

Employees at Bully’s, who said the establishment has been on La Jolla Boulevard for 21 years, declined to comment Saturday afternoon, other than to say that Hurlbut had been manager “for quite a while.”

Employees at the Same Old Place said the bar opened in 1947 and that Henson had managed the nightclub for about two years.

Bill Robinson, a San Diego police spokesman, said the arrests were made by the Police Department’s newly formed Crack Abatement Team, working in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department. He said the two units were working under a new $475,000 grant administered by the state Department of Justice that is aimed at investigating drug and alcohol abuse.

Focus on Street-Level Narcotics Sales

Under the grant program, four detectives and a sergeant have been concentrating on street-level narcotics sales since January. Robinson said the officers are specifically interested in combating the sale of crack, also known as rock cocaine.

“This is one of our first major cases,” Robinson said. “I know it is for our Crack Abatement Team.”

He said police were tipped about three months ago that drug transactions were being conducted inside the Same Old Place. He said undercover officers then began frequenting the establishment, and eventually bought drugs several times in the bar.

The Same Old Place was open for business Saturday afternoon. But Robinson said police have been told that state ABC officials are now reviewing the case to determine whether the bar’s liquor license should be revoked.