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How far would you go to get a strippers phone number?

A father and son accused of drawing knives during a fracas at a Lockwood strip club were charged Monday with felonies.

Jose Angel Lopez Sr., 49, and Jose Angel Lopez Jr., 24, both of Corpus Christi, Texas, appeared in Yellowstone County Justice court by video from the county jail on two counts each of felony assault with a weapon. The younger Lopez was also charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Judge Larry Herman set bond for the elder Lopez at $75,000 because of a lengthy criminal record, and at $50,000 for the younger Lopez. They are to enter pleas in District Court on May 17.

According to charging documents, a bouncer at Planet Lockwood said the younger Lopez tried to re-enter the club after closing time early Monday morning, wanting to get a dancer's phone number.

When the bouncer attempted to make Lopez leave the club, Lopez pulled a knife and challenged the bouncer to a fight, the documents said. The bouncer said he managed to get Lopez out the door by pushing him with a chair, but when he tried to lock the door, Lopez broke a glass panel on the door with his knife and slashed at the bouncer through the opening.

A bartender came to the assistance of the bouncer, punching Lopez three or four times. When Lopez fell, court records said, the elder Lopez ran up, pulled a knife and began slashing at the bartender. The bouncer said the bartender would have been cut if he hadn't pulled him away.

When a sheriff's deputy arrived at about 1:35 a.m., he said he saw the younger Lopez sitting in a Jeep, bleeding from a cut on his scalp. As he approached the Jeep, the deputy said, Lopez got out and moved toward him.

When the deputy drew a sidearm, Lopez threw a knife at his feet, according to charging documents.

After Planet Lockwood employees told the deputy the elder Lopez still had a knife, the deputy found a folding knife in the Jeep. The vehicle belonged to a third man who denied owning the weapon.

At the jail, the elder Lopez denied pulling a knife and said he didn't see his son with one. He said the bouncer broke the door and that he and the bartender attacked his son.

Court documents said the younger Lopez was passed out in a holding cell at the jail.

A deputy woke him and asked if he wanted to give a statement. The document said Lopez "stated he could not remember anything and went back to sleep."

The assault charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The criminal mischief charge against the younger Lopez, filed because of the broken door, carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine.


Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/cr…