Undercover state agents attacked at Happy Dog Pizza; four men
arrested
Gilroy – A team of California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control agents working undercover were attacked and beaten by four men at Happy Dog Pizza early Saturday morning, police said.
The Gilroy Police Department was called for back up and eventually arrested Gilroy residents Joel Gaeta, 24, George Castro, 26, Juan Perez, 21, and Hollister resident Gilbert Garcia, 28, on suspicion of assaulting police officers and resisting arrest about 1:20am Saturday. They were taken to county jail.
As the agents walked into the restaurant, Gaeta yelled into a microphone at the bar, “undercover in the house,” police said.
When the agents detained two females for questioning they believed were underage, Gaeta approached.
“They were conducting an active investigation when the melee started,” Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal said.
The ABC agents identified themselves both vocally and with their badges and Gaeta grabbed him by the collar and began shaking him, police said.
“Once Mr. Gaeta attacked the first ABC agent, one of the other agents immediately turned to his rescue, trying to break his grip,” Svardal said.
Gaeta turned and punched the second agent several times in the face, police said, then Castro, Perez and Garcia began interfering with the agents, pinning the third ABC agent against the wall after a female agent discharged her pepperspray.
“The whole time they’re doing this they’re identifying themselves verbally,” Svardal said.
At some point during the fight, one of the agents called GPD for back up. Ten patrol cars responded and shut Happy Dog down for the rest of the evening.
The three ABC investigators were taken to an area hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.
Early Friday night, the ABC agents visited other Gilroy bars for enforcement purposes, and police believe the four men either visited one of the previous establishments or were alerted to the ABC agents presence.
Citation numbers were unavailable Monday, as the Alcohol Beverage Control offices were closed for a state holiday.
ABC investigators are peace officers who enforce the state’s alcohol laws for licensed businesses. Licensees found violating state laws or local ordinances may have their licenses suspended or revoked.
“We have not had something like this occur when they have been in town,” Svardal said. “They usually don’t need a lot of help. In this case it looks like it just unfolded very very quickly.”
Happy Dog owner Steve Gearing declined to comment about the incident, other than to say: “That’s their story I guess. I am requesting a full investigation (from the ABC department) on what happened. I didn’t see it.”
According to Svardal, ABC officials will determine what the next step will be and if the establishment broke any laws.
“The bar owners are responsible for making sure their establishment is being run peacefully,” he said. “It’s one thing to run a business, it’s another when people start getting hurt. If you’re going to get to that point where this type of stuff happens, it’s going to be a problem … In our bars, we won’t tolerate that type of behavior.”
