Holland restaurant owner arrested after flouting COVID-19 rules
A 55-year-old Holland restaurant owner operating in defiance of a court-ordered closure and the state's COVID-19 restrictions, including Michigan's mask mandate, was arrested Friday by Michigan State Police.
Marlena Pavlos-Hackney was arrested shortly before 6 a.m. during a traffic stop in Ottawa County on a civil warrant for contempt of court, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel's office.
She is being held at the Ingham County Jail pending a court hearing. Pavlos-Hackney was alerted to the warrant March 11 and told to turn herself in by March 18, Nessel's office said.
Marlena's Bistro and Pizzeria has been operating in violation of the state's COVID-19 public health orders for months, according to Nessel's office.
“This owner has continued to willfully violate the state’s food laws, public health orders and the order of the court – a dangerous act that may have exposed dozens of diners and employees to the virus following the discovery that one of Marlena’s customers tested positive for the virus within two days of eating there,” Nessel said in a statement.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development suspended the restaurant's food establishment license on Jan. 20 but it has continued to operate since. An administrative law judge upheld the suspension Feb. 11, according to Nessel's office.
Assistant Attorney General Eileen Whipple told Ingham County Circuit Judge Wanda Stokes earlier this month that the restaurant would not allow inspectors on site and would not comply with social distancing or state mask mandates.
"Marlena’s is not employing even the most basic COVID-19 mitigation measures," Whipple said.
"Marlena’s has rebuffed repeated attempts by the Allegan County Health Department to work with them to bring the defendant’s establishment into compliance," she said.
Pavlos-Hackney told WOODTV Thursday she had a constitutional right to remain open.
"We don't want in this country (a) communist regime who's going to dictate what we can do and what we can't do," Pavlos-Hackney said.
"If I have to go to prison or jail, I'm willing to take the fight," she told WOODTV.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com