By paying $2,500 in fines, Kanawha Valley Arena owner Tommy Brown will avoid having his license for beer and wine sales suspended for violations that occurred at the Dugspur business in 2011.
Brown appeared before the Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control in Abingdon on Feb. 8 to face charges of three alleged violations at KVA – selling alcohol to an underage buyer, allowing prohibited conduct upon the licensed premises, and after-hours consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises.
In an opinion entered March 26 by Administrative Hearing Officer Kristina Perry, Brown was given the choice of having his license suspended for 20 days or paying a civil penalty of $1,500 for the charge of selling alcohol to an underage buyer. On the charge of allowing prohibited conduct upon the licensed premises, Brown was given an option of a 10-day license suspension or paying a civil penalty of $1,000. The third charge of allowing after-hours consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises was dismissed.
Brown’s defense attorney Gregory G. Goad said his client opted to pay the two penalties totaling $2,500.
“The main point was avoiding the suspension and we accomplished that. And we recognize there is going to be scrutiny on the premises and we welcome that,” Goad said. “Tommy looks forward to having another successful year at Kanawha Valley and will continue to give back to our community.”
During the four-hour hearing Feb. 8, testimony was given about an event at KVA titled “Kanawha Mud Bog” on July 30, 2011. Special Agents attended the event while conducting an undercover operation. At approximately 11 p.m., a sanctioned event was ending and a man on the public address system announced that the next event would consist of mud wrestling at a mud pit inside the arena.
Brown testified that the man on the P.A. was a musician not affiliated with the group that promotes the other “mud bog” events, nor an employee of KVA. Mud wrestling was not one of the sanctioned events of the evening, however Brown was aware that mud wrestling had commenced at prior similar events.
“Mr. Brown explained that mud bogs typically include events such as foot racing or mud wrestling for a monetary prize,” according to Perry’s findings. “Mr. Brown indicated that he prohibited men from mud wrestling due to the potential for danger.”
At around 11 p.m., the announcer encouraged the crowd to move inside the arena for the next event. Special ABC Agents then moved inside the arena and stood in a circle with several hundred people surrounding the mud pit.
“The announcer then began soliciting participants for the mud wrestling event. At one point the announcer stated, ‘If someone gets naked, it’s not my fault,’” Perry’s opinion said. “Two of the participants began removing their shirts, exposing their bras. This incited the crowd, who began cheering, ‘Take it off, take it off.’”
At that point, the announcer informed the participants that he had a monetary inducement for the participant who complied with the crowd’s request. The monetary prize began at $20 and eventually increased to $210, which the announcer stated would be given to the participant who won the next match while wrestling topless.
“At approximately 11:52 p.m., while one female participant was on top of the other, pinning her in the mud, the female participant on the bottom grabbed the breasts of the participant on top and moved as if to place her mouth on the mud-covered breast of the participant on top; however, no mouth-to-breast contact actually occurred.”
Throughout the event, the announcer continued to solicit female participants to engage in mud wrestling, stating, ‘This is no Mr. Rogers here, we want Springer.’ The announcer also stated, ‘Show skin to win.’
At one point, testimony was given that two women began removing their shirts in the mud pit, and the announcer informed the crowd and participants he had money to give the winner of the match if she was topless.
“Once the announcement was made, the challenger immediately removed her bra, exposing her bare breasts. The announcer and the crowd encouraged the previous winner to remover her bra, however she refused to do so and left the mud pit,” Perry’s findings state.
Later, another participant removed her shirt and bra and incidentally hit one of the Special Agents with her bra. The agent testified he didn’t see Brown or any other identifiable employee of KVA during the mud wrestling event, but he said he wasn’t certain who the employees of KVA were.
At about 12:40 a.m. on July 31, the agent left the mud pit and noticed approximately 20-25 spectators consuming what appeared to be amber, frothy, liquid beverages from clear plastic cups, which the agent considered to be consistent with the characteristics of an alcoholic beverage. When the agent asked a spectator where he ‘got the beer,’ he was directed to a tent where the licensee had been selling beer.
The agent attempted to purchase alcohol from the tent, but was told ‘they were all out of alcohol’ and that ‘his best bet was to catch the mobile beverage cart.’ By 12:55 a.m., the agent was informed that all points of sale on the licensed premises had sold out of alcohol.
But at 1 a.m. the announcer informed the crowd that the mud wrestling event had concluded and encouraged the patrons to go to the bar and ‘have a few.’
“Mr. Brown acknowledged that alcohol sales and consumption are required to cease at 12 a.m. in the locality, however he indicated that some patrons may return to their cars and obtain alcoholic beverages, which he had no control over,” Perry’s opinion states.
According to the Perry’s findings, on Sept. 27, 2011, two people sold a cup of Bud Light beer to a female with a date of birth of July 10, 1993, making her 18 at the time of purchase, while a Special Agent observed. When the underage female was asked for her ID, she presented a valid Virginia Under 21 Driver’s License showing July 10, 1993 as her date of birth.
One of the people selling the beer looked at the license, referring to the birth year and asked ’93?’ The other then looked at the license and stated, ‘Yeah, 90.’ At that point, the underage female was sold the beer.
The documents state the female was chosen to participate in the program based on her youthful facial features. During her training, she was instructed to answer all questions, such as questions pertaining to her age, truthfully and to reveal her age if asked. She was never instructed to correct a licensee if they made an incorrect statement regarding her age or date of birth.
After the beer purchase, an ABC agent notified the people they had sold beer to an underage person.
“Mr. Brown was later notified of the incident. Mr. Brown explained that they were not employees of the licensed establishment, but rather friends of his daughter, who is employed by the licensed establishment,” the findings state. “Mr. Brown’s daughter left {them} in charge of the beer table on Sept. 17, 2011 while she went to the restroom. Though Mr. Brown indicated that his daughter did not instruct {them} to sell beer to patrons, there is no evidence to establish that she instructed them to not sell beer either.”
According to the findings, the two people pleaded guilty to selling beer to a minor and were each sentenced to pay $100. The findings also note that Brown presented evidence of the positive influence KVA has had on the community of Carroll County and the surrounding area, backed up by 14 letters of support from community members and organizations. Additional evidence was presented of over $26,000 in charitable donations made by Brown in 2010 and 2011.
“The licensee has also donated the use of its equipment and facilities numerous times over the course of four years to such groups as the Cub Scouts, the Virginia High School Rodeo Association, and a children’s bereavement camp operated by Twin County Hospice,” the findings state.
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