July 19: Travis Lloyd Kevie, 29, was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Northern California club, placing an open sign in the window and selling drinks from the once-shuttered business. (Placer County Sheriff's Department)
Whether it was a homeless happy hour or a less-than-legal burst of entrepreneurial spirit, there was no ribbon-cutting ceremony at the grand reopening of a Northern California club this month when a local transient broke into the bar and started selling drinks.
Customers were crowding the bar for days at the Valencia Club in Penryn, Calif., which had lost its liquor license and closed its doors, Fox 40 reported. But Placer County detectives say the landmark business was actually being operated by a homeless man who broke into the club, re-opened it and posed as the new owner.
Placer County sheriffs arrested Travis Lloyd Kevie, 29, on charges of burglary and selling alcohol without a license, the station reported.
According to detectives, Kevie learned the club was shutting down while working on a clean-up crew for the previous owner. Kevie allegedly broke into the building on July 16, placed an open sign in the window and started selling alcohol he purchased from across the street, Fox 40 reported.
But sheriffs recognized Kevie's picture in a July 19 article published in a local paper about the reopening of the Valencia Club. When deputies arrived they found Kevie selling alcohol to customers without a liquor license and booked him -- confiscating a large amount of alcohol and cash from the club.
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