BULLS GAP, Tenn. — — UPDATED TUESDAY 6 p.m. —
A Greene County business owner is going to court, charged with violating Gov. Bill Lee’s stay-at-home order.
“This is a serious disease as we’ve seen,” Sheriff Wesley Holt said of COVID-19. “We’ve got friends in the hospital now.”
Holt is pleading with the public to take stay-at-home orders seriously.
James Michael Rahme was charged Friday with violating the order after deputies found cars surrounding Blue Smoke Tavern in Bulls Gap.
“There was a DJ in there playing music,” Holt said. “They were dancing, close contact, so the officers shut the bar down.”
Holt said the owner argued that he had permission from the state to open.
Just down the road at Yoder's Country Market, general manager Lee Yoder is concerned. His employees have taken precautions to protect customers.
“The more people violate that, first of all there are potential lives that could be lost,” Yoder said. “And with the whole pandemic, I think it’s just going to be drawn out that much longer.”
In letters to law enforcement, both Tennessee and Virginia recommend warning violators first.
Virginia set the penalty at a $2,500 fine or a year in jail. Tennessee's letter had no recommended punishment
The citation Greene County issued carries a $50 fine, but Sheriff Holt said it could be dismissed if the bar remains closed.
“I don’t think this is government control,” Holt said, responding to critics. “It’s us taking a proactive stance to try to get this levelled out. As the president has said, we need to level that curve.”
Holt said this is the only citation his officers have issued. He believes most people are following social distancing guidelines and staying home.
ORIGINAL STORY
A Bulls Gap bar violated the executive order from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee which closed all non-essential businesses, according to the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
The Greene County Sheriff's Department responded to Blue Smoke Tavern on West Andrew Johnson Highway on Friday.
A police report said an officer saw people dancing and someone playing pool. Several cars were parked around the building, and there were about 11 people at the business.
The officer said James Rahme was sitting at the bar with a bottle of alcohol sitting in front of him. The officer then asked Rahme to turn the music off and have the people to leave. The officer stated that Rahme told him he had permission from the state of Tennessee to be open.
The officer wrote issued a criminal summons to Rahme for violation of an emergency declaration. Rahme is due in court on April 27.