DA drops charges against ex-SLO police officer accused of COVID violations at wine bar
Four misdemeanor criminal charges filed against an Orcutt wine bar owner over alleged violations of COVID-19 restrictions were dropped in Santa Maria Superior Court on Tuesday morning “in the interest of justice.”
Former San Luis Obispo police officer Kurt Hixenbaugh, 49, was charged with two counts of violating a stay-at-home order and two counts of failure to file a public health order, according to the criminal complaint filed in late March in court.
The charges stem from his Old Town Orcutt business, Vino et Amicis.
Some incidents are related to public health orders issued in December 2020 while the others are related to orders issued in January 2021.
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control recommended filing charges after investigating Vino et Amicis and citing the business.
The business owner aired his defiance in videos posted on social media. While not completely shuttering the business, it operated under the limitations of the purple tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Hixenbaugh, who was represented by attorney Jordan Cunningham, made his second court appearance via Zoom for the case Tuesday before Judge Kay Kuns.
When the judge asked if the prosecution planned to file any response to Cunningham’s demurrer seeking to drop the charges, deputy district attorney Marina Santisteban said the prosecutors intended to dismiss the charges.
“The dismissal was based upon the subject business having no further alleged violations after the initial case was filed until today,” chief deputy district attorney John Savrnoch told Noozhawk after the hearing. “Today marks the end of the state’s color-tiered restrictions, so the restrictions which formed the basis of the allegation no longer exist.
“It was always the primary goal of any County of Santa Barbara enforcement actions to ensure compliance with health officer orders for the purpose of protecting public health and ensuring that businesses were operating on a level playing field,” Savrnoch added.
Cunningham, who also serves as a member of the California State Assembly representing Santa Maria and Lompoc valleys along with San Luis Obispo County, had said he intended to fight the criminal charges.
“My client is grateful that justice prevailed,” he told Noozhawk after court. “Obviously, we do not think the case should have been filed by the state in the first place — but we are glad that cooler heads prevailed and the District Attorney’s office has dismissed the matter.
“Mr. Hixenbaugh and his wife look forward to continuing to safely serve their customers at Vino et Amicis.”
In the demurrer, Cunningham argued that keeping the business open was protected under the First Amendment and served as a political protest against the governor’s orders that lumped Santa Barbara County into a larger region.
“Mr. Hixenbaugh believed that the governor’s action was arbitrary, capricious, overreaching, unscientific, illegal and unconstitutional,” Cunningham wrote in the motion.
Hixenbaugh, who served 10 years in the U.S. Army and 18 years in law enforcement, “is not exactly what most would consider a born rebel,” according to the court document.
His defense attorney contended the criminal charges also constituted double jeopardy since the ABC had already levied fines against the business for remaining open.
In a March stipulation and waiver for prehearing settlement, Hixenbaugh had agreed to pay the fine to the ABC to resolve the matter, according to documents submitted in the Santa Maria court case.
However, that administrative process appears to be focused on the ABC license and separate from the criminal case.
An ABC spokesman said Tuesday that the agency’s administrative case involving Vino et Amicis has not been adjudicated.
Since it’s still pending, the fine amount has not been established and there has been no decision whether the licensee would be able to pay a fine, the spokesman added.
After the criminal case was filed in Santa Maria court, a GoFundMe page was set up to help Hixenbaugh with legal costs. The fundraiser had collected more than $10,000 toward a $50,000 goal.
Hixenbaugh served as a San Luis Obispo police officer from 2002 to 2018, according to city records.
A frequent conservative commenter on Facebook, Hixenbaugh in 2017 weighed in on a controversy involving his colleague, Sgt. Chad Pfarr, who said in a New Times article that some sexual assault victims “conjured” reports of rape after consuming too much alcohol.
Commenting on the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s Facebook page, Hixenbaugh defended Pfarr, calling him an “outstanding, ethical, and professional police officer.”
“The media, however, has a proven track record of taking police statements out of context and or using partial statements for their own twisted agendas,” Hixenbaugh wrote.
