OLCC suspends sales license of Portland mini mart deemed as ‘serious danger’

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission announced Friday that they are suspending the off-premises sales license of the Stop N Go Mini Mart near Dawson Park in Portland.

“The licensee must not exercise any license privileges at the licensed premises as continued operation represents a serious danger to public health and safety,” OLCC said.

According to the organization, five violations occurred over the last year that involved “unlawful activities.” Due to the nature of the violations, OLCC says they are proposing to permanently cancel the store’s license.

“The Commission specifically alleges that the number of violations indicate a disregard for the law or failure to control the premises,” OLCC said.

Earlier this month, the store’s owner, 43-year-old Donald Sharma, was indicted on drug trafficking charges. He was, however, released from jail following his arrest on March 3 after posting $20,000 of his $200,000 bail.

Sharma said, “Someone must have been snitching,” during his arrest, according to a police detective’s account on a probable cause document.

President of the NAACP Portland Chapter James Posey said the community had been raising concerns about the shop, which is suspected of being a key hub for the “open air” drug market in the area.

“We’ve known that this store has been a problem. We should have taken care of this business before now,” Posey said. “We have to be more intentional about how we structure this community, so everybody can benefit from the economic capacity of this town… Otherwise, we’ll probably be back here again with another situation.”

OLCC says the licensee has the right to a hearing to dispute the proposed license cancellation by April 21.