Police: Man broke into bar, served patrons

PENRYN, Calif., July 22 (UPI) -- Police in Penryn, Calif., said a transient who is well known to deputies broke into a bar and served customers for a couple of days before being found out.

The Valencia Club went out of business in June but Travis Lloyd Kevie, 29, opened it back up July 16, complete with an "Open" sign in the window, the Sacramento Bee reported Thursday. Kevie served an estimated 30 customers a day during the weekend, the newspaper said.

The reopening apparently was newsworthy in the area, as the Auburn (Calif.) Journal even carried an item in which Kevie was quoted as saying it was "a dream come true" for him to operate the club.

Placer County Sheriff's Detective Jim Hudson happened to see the news item and recognized Kevie. Hudson went to the club Wednesday and determined Kevie had no liquor license. Kevie was arrested on suspicion of burglary and selling alcohol without a license, the Bee said.

Kevie had worked on a crew brought in to clean the building after the Valencia Club was shut down.

Investigators said Kevie bought a six-pack of beer at a convenience store and then used money from selling the beer to buy more alcohol -- continuing to build the business until he had "10 to 12 bottles of hard liquor and a couple of cases of beer."

Police said they confiscated a large of amount of cash and alcohol from the bar.