Daytona Beach, FL – The convicted felon who owns one of Volusia County’s 3 bottle clubs is jailed for having a gun in hand when dealing with unruly customers.
George William Lopez – who owns Papi’s Bottle Club on North Nova Road near Holly Hill along with his wife – was arrested Friday afternoon at his home on Whispering Pine Drive in Palm Coast and is held on $20,000 bond at Flagler County Jail as of 4:30pm Friday.
Lopez’s arrest was sparked by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office as part of an investigation into a July 15th incident at Papi’s between the 59-year-old man and 4 people who allegedly caused a disturbance and damaged the club’s front door with a truck.
VCSO spokesman Gary Davidson says it all started around 3am that Wednesday.
“4 unruly patrons were told to leave,” Davidson stated. “On their way out, they jumped into a pickup truck and then backed the truck into the club’s front door 2 times before leaving the scene.”
Deputies were told afterward that the truck did around $4,000 in damage to the door and that Lopez wanted to press charges, according to Davidson.
As part of the investigation into that incident, Lopez gave security video showing what happened to VCSO and that video showed Lopez – who was convicted in 2008 for battery on a police officer – had a gun, per Davidson.
“When Sheriff’s investigators reviewed the video, they saw Lopez and a security guard run into the parking lot with firearms drawn,” Davidson added. “Lopez can be seen going behind the bar, grabbing a firearm and then heading outside with the gun drawn as if he was ready to fire.”
Convicted felons are not allowed by law to own a gun or have one in their possession, so that video led VCSO to open up a separate investigation, according to Davidson.
“On Wednesday night, investigators executed a search warrant at the club and seized a .357 caliber revolver from the club along with ammunition and a holster,” Davidson noted. “Investigators believe the gun belongs to Lopez’s wife.”
That search led to a judge signing an arrest warrant on Friday and it was after that when Lopez was booked at Flagler County Jail for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The 4 club patrons involved in this incident haven’t been found at this time, according to VCSO.
All this comes less than a month after Lopez and several of his family members pleaded at a Volusia County Council meeting for council members to not pass ordinances that barred bottle clubs in the unincorporated county area from being open past 2am or allowing anyone to have open containers of alcohol just outside.
The VCC passed both of those ordinances 6-0 during the July 16th meeting, with District 1 Representative Pat Patterson absent.
In his comments at that meeting, Lopez complained that the ordinances would hurt his business and that his club was being unfairly targeted by Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson and Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood.
Johnson – who was also at that meeting – claimed the bottle clubs were responsible for over 900 service calls in the past 3 years and that Papi’s, in particular, is a spot where deputies are called to regularly.
Daytona Beach police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man on the Oakridge Boulevard bridge this past May that officers believe started with an argument at Papi’s.
A man arrested in Georgia this past May is believed to be the shooter who killed a man in Papi’s parking lot back in 2013.
George William Lopez (mugshot courtesy Flagler County Jail)
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.