Today’s Auburn Journal reports an uncharacteristic burst of sanity and good sense on the part of our judicial system:
Outlaw barkeeper Travis Kevie was ordered released from jail today with the buzz of media attention spreading his exploits to a widespread audience.But in the eyes of the law, he’ll still have to belly up to a misdemeanor charge of illegal alcohol sales.
Kevie, 29, was arrested Tuesday after four days of bamboozling about 30 customers a day into believing that he had re-opened the recently vacated Valencia Club in Penryn.
The story of a homeless man entering a vacant bar and buying a six-pack from a convenience store to get business started soon turned from a local story into a regional one – and then a national one on the Internet and TV.
So the heroic Travis Kevie walks among us once again. Hallelujah, justice is not yet dead. I assume he’ll get something mild like community service for the illegal liquor sales, but hasn’t he already performed that service by selling the booze in the first place? Think about it, wouldn’t the world be a nicer place if everybody just went around mildly high all day long?
I have a question for any lawyers out there: if he was to claim that he was merely taking donations for the drinks, could he dodge the rap? Just curious.
But here’s the best part of the article:
Badattitudes.com called Kevie “an example for us all.”“His only capital – a mere six-pack of beer – was used to open a small business that was apparently off to a successful start,” Badattitudes.com posted, lauding Kevie for “vision, guts, initiative and determination.”
[…]
But any attempts to drum up a “Free Travis Kevie!” campaign – as Badattitudes.com was pushing for – were premature.
Bad Attitudes has penetrated the Sierra Nevada foothills. We’re takin’ this baby mainstream, so sit back and enjoy the ride, everybody!
Suck on that, Kos!
Poor guy. Any profit he made will have to go to pay the lawyer!
Posted by: oldwhitelady on July 24, 2010 10:40 AMA smart lawyer would take this case pro bono what with all the national media AND Bad Attitudes following the story. The publicity would be priceless.
Posted by: montag on July 24, 2010 11:21 PMI once knew a fellow named Gump down South who sold beer from his home. I never visited his house during drinking hours but for reasons I forget, a friend had to visit Gump in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, so we went over and visited him during non business hours. Gump had a big beer cooler in the living room, one of those big ones that are just above waist high. Always amply stocked I was told. But one day a youngster who looked older than his youthful 18 years stoppedc by Gump's and Gump got an expensive ticket from the Sheriff's office. Then the election was held and the reasons for the crackdown were no longer necessary when the Sheriff was elected.
But one day Gump's place was closed for business permanently. At some point Gump's situation came to the attention of social workers and since he wasn't taking proper care of his diabetes, a decision was made to put Gump in the local nursing home. But several days a week, a few of Gump's buddies would pick him up at the nursing home, deliver him to another rural bar, and then would pick him up in the afternoon. Gump was quite a conversationalist but the nursing home crowd didn't conversationally help him with his diabetes so Gump made several trips a week to one of several local watering holes. And several locals knew whose "day" it was to pick up or deliver Gump to or from the nursing home. One might do an afternoon or a morning or whatever, but those fond memories of Gump's home bar that many shared, or so I learned from bar conversations at a local convenience store kept him supplied with ready volunteers to act as his free cab drivers (pickups included), many of who would chip in to help Gump with the cost of the supplies he picked up at the bar. Usually something healthy for diabetics, like fried pork rinds, boiled peanuts, or whatever it was that he went to the bar to keep the conversation flowing
Now whether Gump just let people donate to his home bar or whether he actually "charged" for the beer might be a subject of debate amongst the tax lawyers, although I doubt taxing Gump's home bar would make a dent in the national debt so I suspect he was left alone by everyone except the local sheriff at election time.
On a related note, I often wonder whether those bloggers that have a "tip jar" or a "donation jar" are subject to tax if they ask readers to make a "donation". It's certainly done in some states when a charity is involved. Not that any of that would matter here at Bad Attitudes, as we don't have a tip jar nor are there plans to add one as the blogging pay scale is the same for everyone, except perhaps the owner, who I am sure pays to keep this fantastically important blog going.
Incidentally, there was no "Bubba" in Gump's name. His place was known as "Gump's place" before there was ever a book or a movie about that particular fictional character with the same last name as Gump's first name. I never did know Gump's last name though. But Gump and his home bar were real, or so I was told on that fateful day that I visited him and his place during the dry hours on some weekday - as I saw the fully stocked cooler that morning - although Sunday was the busiest day of the week at Gump's house since the laws were blue in that area.
Sorry, but I don't have an answer to your question. But I just wanted to add this story as Gump may very well have been the inspiration behind the important story that this blog is now covering. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who still knows something about Gump's place.
Posted by: Buck on July 26, 2010 8:41 AM