A former Portland nightclub owner who was convicted in the 1990 murder of a 21-year-old man was arrested late last month in Huntington Beach, California on suspicion of possessing and selling drugs, according to police records.

The Huntington Beach arrest log shows that Lawrence Hurwitz, 64, was arrested June 27 for possessing and selling narcotics or controlled substances. The document states that Hurwitz is a Portland resident.

Pamplin Media Group reported that Hurwitz was arrested with four pounds of cocaine and $230,000 in cash.

Hurwitz was convicted in the murder of Timothy Moreau, whose body was never found. According to court documents, Hurwitz was arrested in 1998, eight and a half years after Moreau was killed. He was convicted in 2000 of aggravated murder.

According to an entry by Moreau’s family on the “National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children” website, Moreau came to Portland to attend Reed College. The entry states that Moreau was killed while working at a concert hall by his boss and a colleague.

Hurwitz owned the Starry Night club in Old Town Portland, where Moreau had worked. According to a 2008 Oregonian article, Hurwitz served eight years of his 11 year-sentence. Prosecutors charged him with murdering Moreau to cover up a counterfeit ticket scam.

Hurwitz wouldn’t admit to killing Moreau, but in 2000 he agreed to plead no contest to the murder. Although Hurwitz agreed to help investigators look for Moreau’s remains in the Columbia River Gorge, repeated searches failed to turn up the body.

—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR