The two owners of the Golden Steer restaurant, facing 15 misdemeanor charges for allegedly buying and selling stolen alcohol during an undercover police operation, will have a pretrial hearing Jan. 26 in Kent Muncipal Court.
A judge granted a continuance in the case Monday, Dec. 1. A defense attorney requested continuance due to ongoing investigation, negotiations and scheduling because of the holidays, according to court documents.
Mohammed F. Alsadi, 33, and Widad G. Defar, 35, who are married and live in Kent, pleaded not guilty to all charges Oct. 28 after their Oct. 15 arrest by Kent Police. Alsadi and Defar were each booked and released on Oct. 15 from the city of Kent Correctional Facility. They each posted bail, which was set at $4,000.
The Golden Steer, 23826 104th Ave. SE on the East Hill, remains closed. The owners cannot operate any business in Kent without a valid license, according to the pretrial release agreements.
Alsadi faces one count of second-degree criminal solicitation of possession of stolen property; three counts of third-degree criminal solicitation of possession of stolen property; four counts of buying liquor illegally; and one count of business operation without a general business license.
Defar faces three counts of third-degree criminal solicitation of possession of stolen property and three counts of buying liquor illegally.
Most of the charges have maximum penalties of 90 days in jail and $1,000 fines, according to City Attorney Tammy White. Alsadi’s charge of second-degree criminal solicitation has a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.
The owners bought the Golden Steer in December 2023 under the name of Delightful Dining LLC, according to state Department of Revenue documents. The restaurant fired opened in 1964 and has had several owners.
The city filed misdemeanor charges against the two owners for allegedly buying and selling stolen alcohol and catfish during an undercover police operation that included three controlled purchases over a four-week period. The case began after an investigator with the Fred Meyer (Kroger) Organized Retail Crime unit contacted Kent Police that the restaurant was reportedly known to be purchasing stolen alcohol bottles from the store, according to court documents.
An officer interviewed Alsadi after reading him is Miranda Rights following an Oct. 15 search warrant at the restaurant. Alsadi reportedly told the officer he would buy alcohol for his personal consumption, not for the restaurant. He said paying $20 for a bottle of Hennessy worth as much as $60 to $70 was reasonable because stores would put bottles on sale. An officer told Alsadi the bottles he bought the previous night were from an undercover police officer.
An officer interviewed Defar at the restaurant. She said her husband typically buys alcohol from a Seattle liquor store. She said they would never buy from a normal person or another source. She said she manages the restaurant and denied buying alcohol for the business. When told she had bought alcohol from police, Defar said she never asks questions and just pays for things. When told they had paid $800 for alcohol and other products worth over $3,000, she claimed she thought it was a company delivery.
Among the items police reportedly seized from the restaurant during the execution of the search warrant were two large Hennessy cases and two large Tito’s cases from an Oct. 14 undercover officer sale; and other bottles from previous sales. Some of the bottles reportedly were in the bar area, opened and with alcohol missing, indicating it had been served to customers.
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