Family poisoned with narcotic at Nikko Japanese Steak House lawyers up
After the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office confirmed seven patrons of Nikko Japanese Steak House were poisoned with a narcotic, a local attorney confirmed to the News Journal that he is representing at least one of the families.
The News Journal reached out to one of the victims via email, who then stated that local attorney Aaron Watson of The Watson firm would be handling any requests for comment.
"As this incident just occurred, and our investigation has only begun, I don't have enough information to comment publicly," Watson told the News Journal. "I appreciate your patience as we look further into the matter."
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Why is Aaron Watson representing a Nikko Japanese Steak House patron?
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office announced in a news release Saturday that at least seven victims were hospitalized after eating at Nikko Japanese Steak House. Hours prior to the release, a person alleging to have been hospitalized after eating at the restaurant claimed on social media that an employee tainted the food with a drug. The victim said multiple families were in the ER after visiting the restaurant.
SRSO's Major Crimes Unit began investigating along with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.
The restaurant closed in the wake of the incident, but reopened Tuesday.
The owners of the restaurant have not responded to the News Journal's requests for comment.
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What sent Nikko Japanese Steak House patrons to the hospital?
On Monday morning, SRSO spokesperson Jillian Durkin told the News Journal that the department "can confirm they were poisoned by a narcotic."
"We did interview a suspect, but no arrests have been made," Durkin told the News Journal.
The SRSO did not confirm which narcotic led to the individuals' hospitalizations.
What do we know about Nikko Japanese Steak House?
Since the incident, social media has been abuzz regarding the restaurant. There has also been some confusion in online chatter about the restaurant's name and location.
According to the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations, Fernando Chaves became the president/vice president in 2009 of Nikko Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar Inc. located at 4510 U.S. Highway 90.
Roughly five years later, the state dissolved the restaurants ability to conduct business in 2014 for failing to submit an annual report, according to the Division of Corporations.
In August 2013, Ursula Pinho took control of the restaurant and began Nikko of Pace Inc. at the same Pace address.
On Feb. 1, 2023, Pinho filed a second Nikko of Pace restaurant called Nikko of Pace Dogwood LLC located at 5828 Dogwood Drive in Milton.
Despite the various name changes with the Division of Corporations, the Pace location's sign reads "Nikko Japanese Sushi Bar."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Nikko Japanese Steak House family hire Pensacola attorney Aaron Watson
