GREENSBORO, N.C. — The owner of the Blind Tiger in Greensboro, as well as three employees, face charges days after a deadly shooting in their parking lot. The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission also suspended the bar's alcohol permit.
New details emerged Friday in the investigation. Court documents allege Blind Tiger employees blocked police access and destroyed evidence after a bouncer shot and killed 19-year-old Pedro Alegria on Sunday. The affidavit includes statements from ALE agents, Greensboro police officers, and the victim's girlfriend.
Timeline: Fight, Shooting, Gun Stashed
The victim's girlfriend, Krystal Pineda, said they arrived at Blind Tiger at about midnight with eight other people. Family told WFMY News 2 they were celebrating Alegria's birthday.
Pineda said half of their group was under drinking age, but their IDs were not checked.
The group was served a bottle of liquor and three buckets of beer while inside. Pineda said sometime later, another group called members of their group a racial slur and the two groups started arguing.
An ALE special agent who reviewed security video from that night said the fight became physical at 2:10 a.m. and the groups were kicked out.
Once outside, the fight continued. Investigators said a bouncer approached the fight and showed a gun.
At 2:14 a.m., the bouncer fired the gun about five feet away from Alegria, hitting him in the neck. Alegria ran until he collapsed and died.
Investigators said another bouncer then took the gun used in the shooting and placed it under papers in an office desk drawer.
Shortly after the shooting, police tried to get into the building to determine if anyone was hurt inside, "but two employees state it was private property and the police could not enter," the affidavit states.
Evidence Destroyed
ALE agents said Blind Tiger employees did not help Alegria after he'd been shot, blocked GPD's access to the building, and destroyed evidence by cleaning blood off a brick wall near the entrance where Alegria had been shot.
"I observed an employee standing near the door to the gated outside patio of the establishment...the employee was repeatedly saying, 'They don't want nobody inside,'" Greensboro police officer E.P. Edmonds said in the affidavit.
Officer Edmonds went on to say that when approaching the gate, an employee blocked his entrance.
"I reached for the gate to open it as I asked the employee if the victim was inside the business. The employee then moved to stand in front of the gate door to prevent me from entering the business and said, 'No, no victim is inside,' The employee repeatedly advised that there was no one inside and that the victim was not inside the business," Edmonds stated.
Edmonds goes on to say that he heard screaming coming from the back parking lot and ran to meet other officers who had found Alegria shot.
Blind Tiger Employees Charged
The bouncer, 28-year-old Jason Leonard, faces a second-degree murder charge.
ALE also charged owner Bradford McCauley and manager Donald Beck with failing to superintend and hiring unlicensed armed security. Beck was also charged with allowing violations to occur on the ABC-licensed premises.
In addition, Leonard and another bouncer were charged with providing unlicensed armed security.
WFMY News 2 reached out to The Blind Tiger's attorney about the allegations. He declined to comment.
Repeated Shootings
The commission said conditions are "sufficiently hazardous" at the bar and that law enforcement and emergency personnel are at a "substantial risk" when going to the location.
"The disregard for safety by continuing sales and service of alcoholic beverages, despite the ongoing violence and repeated shootings causing serious injury to patrons, creates a hazardous environment for the public," the affidavit states.
There have been three shootings at the business in 2022. Two of them happened within a week in April.