Former owner of Spokane’s Daiquiri Factory suing city from jail

Melissa Luck by Melissa Luck

The former owner of a downtown Spokane bar called the Daiquiri Factory has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Spokane and dozens of other people and agencies, claiming he was discriminated against and unfairly targeted.

Jamie Pendleton filed the claim from the Spokane County Jail, where is being held on multiple counts of forgery and identity theft. He also pleaded guilty to theft charges in Idaho in 2016.

Pendleton operated the Daiquiri Factory, where he came under fire for drinks like the “Date Grape Kool-Aid.”

in the claim filed last week, Pendleton says city, county and state agencies conspired against him and violated his civil rights.

In the hand-written claim, Pendleton says “the defendants in this action engaged in concert and conspiracy to drastically curtail [his] use of property by manufacturing police reports, citations and police data in 2014 to later justify targeting and discrimination” for when he tried to reopen the Daiquiri Factory in 2016. He says his landlord conspired with city officials and the Downtown Spokane Partnership “to attempt to destroy business so it could lease the property to others.”

Pendleton is seeking damages against all defendants for “total loss of business profits.”

Pendleton was booked into the Spokane County Jail in late May on theft and forgery charges.

There are no dates set yet for any hearings in the federal case.

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