Gilroy – Attorneys have scheduled a preliminary hearing for Joel
Gaeta, the Gilroy man accused of assaulting an agent from the
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at Happy Dog Pizza last
February.
Gilroy – Attorneys have scheduled a preliminary hearing for Joel Gaeta, the Gilroy man accused of assaulting an agent from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at Happy Dog Pizza last February.
Gaeta was one of four men arrested after three ABC agents were beaten at the Fifth Street pizzeria last year. Gilroy police say Gaeta yelled “Undercover in the house!” into a microphone when he spotted the agents talking to an underage girl at the bar, then choked one agent, starting a brawl between bar patrons and the agents, according to police.
Gaeta is the only arrestee to face charges, and has appeared regularly in court throughout 2006. He is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 22 at 1:30pm.
Happy Dog has also been taken to task by the ABC for running “a disorderly house.” The restaurant’s liquor license will be suspended from Feb. 1 through March 2, said Karyn Nielsen, ABC’s district administrator. ABC settled on the suspension dates with Steve Gearing, Happy Dog’s co-owner, after ABC rendered its decision in November. If a similar violation occurs this year, Happy Dog will face 15 extra dry days, plus any added penalties.
Gearing has said he’d like to remodel the restaurant during the suspension, and “catch two dogs with one bone.” That’s fine, said Nielsen, but the restaurant can’t post any signs that say it’s closed for reasons other than the ABC suspension.
