Iredell Co. man calls accusations of illegal strip club in home 'complete misunderstanding'

IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities raided a man’s rural Iredell County home Friday after they said it was being used as an illegal adult entertainment club.

Officials said the owner and operator, David Yates Jr., 58, was the only person inside the home when officers found weapons, marijuana, liquor and malt beverages.

Eyewitness News reporter Glenn Counts was given a tour of the house on Monday by Yates and saw the area where the stripper pole was removed as well as lockers for the young women to use.

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Multiple law enforcement agencies raided "Buster’s Strip Club" on Bethesda Road in Statesville and said they found drugs, weapons and alcohol inside.

The investigation began after community members sent in anonymous complaints.

The club was found in a garage behind the home.

Yates said he charged a $5 admission to help pay the power bill.

“Anytime you are having drinking and stripping, you’re going to have shooting and fighting,” a neighbor said. “You don’t need stuff like that, not here around this neighborhood.”

After approaching Channel 9’s cameras, Yates declined an on-camera interview but said the whole ordeal is a misunderstanding and the pole inside what he called his man cave was used by his wife and daughter for exercise.

He said there were no drugs found but admitted moonshine was found and that he had been busted for moonshine before.

Neighbor Tim Lindley told Channel 9 the illegal strip club didn't bother him, and he's even been to Yates' home. He only said it was guys hanging out, having a beer.

“I stayed in there maybe five, maybe six minutes, and I left,” Lindley said. “It’s just not for me. It’s not my kind of thing.”

Yates was charged with selling alcoholic beverages without obtaining a license from the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

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“These locations attract individuals who buy and sell illegal controlled substances, weapons and violence which puts a strain on local law enforcement services,” Meredith Shoaf, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement assistant special agent in charge, said in a statement. “This is part of ALE’s Community Betterment initiative which partners with local law enforcement to help shut down these types of locations and improve the quality of life within a community.”

Cox Media Group