Posted on 07/21/2010 1:49:44 PM PDT by rawhide
Auburn,CA. A Placer County man has been arrested after he broke into a shuttered bar, reopened the business and started selling drinks to unwitting customers, according to the Placer County Sheriff's department.
The Placer County Sheriff's department arrested 29-year-old Travis Kevie of Newcastle after his 4-day stint as the barkeep of the historic Valencia Club in Penryn which had been shutdown for more than a year.
Detective Jim Hudson became suspicious after reading about the Valencia Club's re-opening in an Auburn Journal newspaper article that featured a picture of Kevie and identified him as the club's new "owner/operator". Not only had Detective Hudson had previous run-ins with Kevie, he knew the Valencia Club's liquor license had been surrendered.
When Detective Hudson went to the bar to investigate, he found it open for business and customers at the bar. Kevie quickly went from behind the bar to behind bars.
Deputies describe Kevie as a transient. They say he broke into the Valencia Club and put an open sign in the window on July 16th. Kevie kicked off his business with a six-pack of beer he bought and resold at the club. He used his profits to buy more alcohol keeping the club open throughout the weekend serving about 30 customers a day, deputies say.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs13.com ...
You know, this guy epitomizes the American spirit of free enterprise and they put him in jail for it, simply because he broke a few dozen, and needless, laws. This is the type of spirit that made us the greatest country in the world and has since been killed off because of BS laws and regulations.
Finally, a good news story.
He was an undocumented proprietor.
” The lack of capital investment for the structure on Mr. Kevie’s part didn’t hurt either... “
According to the story, the building had been sitting empty for a year — he was merely putting idle assets back to work....
Liquor license? We don’t need no stinking liquor license...
If this guy was an illegal from Mexico, they’d be praising him.
Not arresting him.
He deserves some honorable mention in the next issue of Modern Drunkard. He’s at least as morally upright as most politicians and bureaucrats who are presently part of the United States government.
I think most here are just having fun with an unusual story, in a light-hearted way. It does have a rather feel-good storyline to it.
Getting his picture in the local fishwrap...good grief. I don’t know whether this guy’s got the brain of a houseplant or a pair of steel balls, or both.
}:-)4
I like the guy’s drive and spirit. I wish more people had that in them rather than looking to Uncle Sam for salvation.
Having said that, however, the building belonged to someone else. It was not his to use, and any profits he may have kept from the sale of any liquor that did not belong to him is theft.
Why was the liquor license lost? Politics? Selling to underage customers? This looks like it would have easily been a booming business. Of course, Kevie probably allowed smoking too.
"Hey, what is this, some kind of joke?"
He purchased his own liquor from what it appears were begged funds and then the kind of profits that a bar gets. I don’t think a long shuttered bar would have left any liquor on the premises. Still there’s a burglary to deal with and a bunch of legal liquor violations because no license... this guy may be in prison for a long time but boy will he have a story to tell.
Well said, I'm with you, so folks can aim the flames my way too.
//Kevie probably allowed smoking too//
Well after everything else he did he had not much to lose did he. He had a good run while it lasted, maybe next time he can do it the right way.
I get your point, but from the article it seemed to me the place was abandoned.
I agree private property should be kept private.
Just opening up closed down bars, other Americans are unwilling to open.
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