Homeless Man 'Opens' Closed Bar, Arrested

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - An industrious homeless squatter determined to extend last call at a shuttered local bar has been sent to jail for slinging booze out of the abandoned establishment and posing as the new owner.

The would-be entrepreneur, 29-year-old Travis Lloyd Kevie, was sentenced to 15 days in jail for breaking into a Northern California bar earlier this summer, posing as the new owner, and serving drinks to unsuspecting patrons, reported The Sacramento Bee .

The bar, the Valencia Club, had gone out of business weeks earlier, and its liquor license had expired.

Kevie, who had worked on a clean-up crew at the establishment after the bar had closed, broke into the building, armed with a six-pack of beer purchased at a convenience store, turned on the lights, and hung an "Open" sign in the window.

Soon the thirsty customers came calling. Kevie used the proceeds to keep buying more alcohol. He kept the bar open for four days, serving about 30 customers a day.

Kevie was so successful that local newspaper The Auburn Journal ran a front-page story about the reopening of the bar ’ a much-loved local landmark.

In the article ’ which featured a photo of a smiling Kevie posing with a dollar bill ’ the faux owner was quoted as saying his takeover of the bar was "dream come true."

The dream would be short-lived.

Local cops spotted the article, recognized Kevie as a transient, and pulled the plug on all the fun. Kevie was subsequently arrested on suspicion of burglary and selling alcohol without a license .

He was sentenced to 15 days in jail, fined $160 and ordered to stay away from the Valencia Club unless lawfully employed there.