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Police raid strip club on wheels

JC2003

Police raid strip club on wheels

Police find lap dance patrons and dancers in a motor home outside the Bucs-Bears game.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published November 29, 2005

TAMPA - Undercover officers couldn't help but notice the smiling young women in Buccaneers jerseys handing out fliers before Sunday's kickoff against the Chicago Bears.

But it was the sight of four men guarding a jet-black motor home, decorated with a sign for strip club Deja Vu, that really raised suspicion.

It just didn't seem like a typical tailgate party - and it wasn't,
police said.

Six women performed lap dances inside the 40-foot motor home parked across from Raymond James Stadium, charging $20 to $40 apiece, depending on whether they danced topless or totally nude, police said Monday.

Men paid a $20 cover charge and were served alcohol, said Tampa police Sgt. Bill Todd.

Officers also caught a male patron smoking marijuana in the back of the motor home, which was parked off Himes Avenue at the former Tampa Bay Center, police said.

"We determined this was the fourth game this season where they had done this," Todd said. "I don't understand what justification they think they had, bringing this to a family environment like a Bucs game."

Police charged all six dancers with being nude where alcohol is served, and with being nude in a commercial establishment, violations of city ordinances.

According to a police report, the dancers are Christine Marie Ostroff, 23, of Tampa; Katrena Su-Ing Wolf, 27, of Pinellas Park; Nohelia Terrell, 24, of St. Petersburg; Ashlee Erin Gassert, 25, of Brandon; Carrie Lynn Scott, 19, of Tampa; and Colleen Randi McBride, 23, of Tampa.

Police said Wolf and McBride also had oral sex with each other as part of the show. They were charged with one misdemeanor count each of performing an unnatural and lascivious act.

Eric Monroe Terrell, 43, of St. Petersburg; Mitchell Scott Stone, 29, of Tampa; and Willie James Ford, 41, of Tampa, were charged with selling alcohol without a license and conspiring to violate beverage laws.

Stone, who police said owns the motor home and leased it to Deja Vu management for $500 a day, was charged with renting space for lewdness.

Alleged lap dance patron Peter Madden James, 28, of Tampa, was charged with possession of marijuana.

Officers did not charge the dancers with violating the city ordinance that requires nude dancers to stay 6 feet from their audience and fellow dancers. They also did not charge several men who were getting lap dances when officers went inside the motor home.

But, Todd warned, "more charges could be coming."

"This isn't over yet," he said.

Police raided the motor home shortly before the 1 p.m. Bucs-Bears kickoff, Todd said.

Inside, they found James smoking marijuana and "various girls performing acts," Todd said.

Police seized more than $2,000, as well as cameras the girls used to photograph each other dancing, Todd said.

They impounded the motor home and a 2003 Chevrolet Venture mini-van parked nearby. The minivan had Hustler publisher Larry Flint's name plastered on the side, Todd said.

Flint has done some joint marketing with the Deja Vu corporation, which owns the Tampa club, said Deja Vu defense attorney Luke Lirot.

Lirot said he is still reviewing the state criminal charges filed by police, but he does not think the alleged city ordinance violations will stand up in court.

"The fact that this doesn't take place at a specific business location would render those charges inapplicable," Lirot said.

He said Deja Vu managers parked the "party bus" across from the stadium to advertise their club's permanent location on Adamo Drive.

"This was simply to generate interest in the business," Lirot said.