Two men booted from California strip club over refusal to wear face masks charged for allegedly shooting up business with AK-47
A pair of men allegedly booted from a California strip club over their refusal to wear face masks have been charged with returning to the establishment and opening fire with an AK-47.
Both Edgar Nava-Ayala, 34, and 22-year-old Daniel Juvenal Ocampo, pleaded not guilty on Monday to three counts of attempted murder and other crimes in connection with the drive-by shooting, which unfolded outside the Sahara Theater in Anaheim the night of Halloween.
A third man, Juan Acosta Soto, was also charged with multiple counts of assault with a machine gun, according to a press release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the group was escorted from the strip club on Oct. 31 after both Nava-Ayala and Ocampo refused to wear face masks inside, a rule implemented in a bid to help slow the fast-spreading coronavirus. All three men left the facility only to return a short time later with an automatic weapon.
Authorities said Nava-Ayala unleashed at least 15 rounds at the building, wounding two workers and a customer, according to the press release. All of the victims were struck in the upper body, with one having to go undergo surgery and another suffering from a shattered scapula.
All three survived the violent incident.
Nava-Ayala, Ocampo, and Acosta-Soto were arrested by the Anaheim Police Department on Dec. 17.
They are being held at the Orange County Jail on $5 million bail each. All three men could face up to life behind bars if convicted on all charges against them.