UPDATED: Monrovia Liquor Store's License Suspended After Undercover Marijuana Bust

The Monrovia liquor store where a clerk was nabbed in an undercover bust by Alcoholic Beverage Control investigators had its liquor license suspended Thursday but remained open for business.

Souhiel "Johnny" Khalil, 29, of Burbank, while working at the liquor store on Duarte Road, according to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Monrovia police detectives and ABC investigators posted suspension notices at the store Thursday. The suspension bars the store from selling alcohol for 25 days and forces the owners to transfer their liquor license to a new owner within 180 days, according to the Monrovia Police Department's neighborhood watch report.

John Carr, a spokesman for ABC, said Thursday that the license was suspended because of the Khalil's actions.

"That was for a co-owner who was accused of selling marijuana and receiving purported stolen property...," Carr said. "As a result of those violations we suspended the license for 25 days…"

Carr said the store owners signed a waiver and agreed not to contest the violations.

"They have signed an agreement that they will accept ABC’s penalty…," Carr said. "By signing that agreement, they have waived their right to a hearing to contest the charges."

Carr said in February that Khalil was caught selling marijuana to undercover officers on three separate occasions while working at the liquor store on Duarte Road. He is also accused of arranging the sale of property he knew to be stolen, according to Carr.

Sam Khalil, who identified himself as the owner of the store, was still restocking shelves Thursday afternoon. Khalil declined to comment on why the store lost its license, saying only that the citation was "a minor ticket." He said that he will stay open for business and intends to start selling alcohol again in three weeks when the suspension is lifted.

"I can't sell beer, wine and liquor," Khalil said. "I sell grocery, (lottery) tickets, cigarettes, everything."

The suspension comes the same day the police department announced that it received a $20,000 Alcoholic Beverage Control Grant for the next fiscal year, beginning in July.

"The Monrovia Police Department will implement the strategies of education and enforcement to address alcohol related problems within the city," according to the neighborhood watch report.

The grant will cover overtime expenses and equipment costs associated with special enforcement operations aimed at "licensed establishments that have a disproportionate amount of calls for service," according to the report.

"The goal will be to reduce the overall number of alcohol related offenses and calls for service at these locations," the report states.