Tussle at Tequila

A normal Tuesday lunch turned out to be anything but for some patrons at the El Tequila restaurant last week. On July 23, at 12:18 p.m., Madill Officer Steven Ray was dispatched to the restaurant at 410 South First Street for a possible disturbance.

Once Ray arrived on scene, he observed two male subjects arguing in the parking lot. Ray then approached the two bickering bros. He identified them as Jose Garcia, the owner of El Tequila and Brenden Lesley, a patron of the restaurant.

Lesley approached Ray and informed him that he was being ejected from the restaurant because of a lie. “Mr. Lesley approached me and told me that he was being kicked out for supposedly giving his [not of legal drinking age] friend a drink of his beer while him and his friend (Jacob Crowell) were having lunch.”

Lesley claimed that Garcia approached the table where he and his friend were dining, and the owner informed him about the complaint and that he was removing the drink from the table. Lesley was not happy about Garcia’s actions and began to cause a scene in the restaurant.

Lesley told Ray that Garcia asked him to leave the restaurant to which he obliged and left the establishment.

Once Ray received Lesley’s account of the story, it was time to let Garcia tell his side. Garcia claimed that his waitress informed him that she observed Lesley sneaking his friend a bit of his beer. Garcia confronted Lesley, and informed him that because of his action, he could no longer sell him beer. Garcia then proceeded to remove the alcohol from the table. Garcia’s account matched Lesley’s, he stated that is when Lesley became irate and began arguing with Garcia.

While Ray was getting Garcia’s statement, the officer was approached by a patron of the restaurant, wanting to file a complaint against Lesley. A gentleman was having lunch with his wife and daughter, and wanted Lesley to answer for using extremely offensive words in front of them, specifically, the “F word and G.D. word.” Ray had the complainant fill out and sign a statement on the incident.

Following the first gentleman out of the restaurant was another unhappy customer, and not because his food was cold. He cited the same reasons as the other customer, and called the comments “unappreciated and inappropriate.”

Lesley was subsequently arrested for Disturbing the Peace and booked into the Marshall County Jail. An online search of court records show Lesley has two prior felonies, one Unlawful Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, and one Second Degree Burglary. He also has a misdemeanor charge of Driving Under the Influence.