Judge Refuses to Shut Down Club; Sets Contempt Date

A judge Thursday turned down prosecutors’ request for an order to close down a nightclub that Los Angeles City Atty. James Hahn called a “major hangout for street gang members.”

But Superior Court Judge Jerry Fields set April 16 as the date for the club, Don Quixotes East, in the 2800 block of East Olympic Boulevard, to show why it should not be held in contempt for violating terms of a preliminary injunction issued last month by failing to have a teen-age dance permit and violating a state liquor license by not providing a food service, which the club is required to do in order to be permitted to legally admit minors.

Club owner Salvador M. Quezada, 51, also is scheduled to appear April 3 in Municipal Court on misdemeanor citations arising from the alleged violations.