On Wednesday, Gilbert Vega, 36, was going to eat at The Diner, located at 200 3rd Ave South, in downtown Nashville. He was stopped by security at the location, as the security guard would later tell police they are required to search the bags of every patron before entering the restaurant.
Vega’s bag was searched by The Diner’s security guard at the door, however unlike the “sometimes acceptable” precursory check for weapons, bombs, or other crazy stuff being brought into downtown businesses, this was a much more thorough search. The security guard took the time to verify the medication bottle labels matched Vega’s ID. All Vega wanted was to sit and eat some food. However, now his prescription bottles are being checked by a private security guard at a restaurant.
The security guard noticed that a bottle in Vega’s bag did not match his ID, which Vega confirmed it was not his medicine, but it was in his bag. There’s a lot of reasons this is acceptable, and none of them are the business of a private security guard at a restaurant.
Security flagged down MNPD Officer Kelcey Bell, who then arrested Gilbert Vega, and charged him with drug possession without a prescription (MNPD Incident: 2018-0658786), and a night court magistrate signed the warrant. Within a few hours of being booked, and once the ADA saw the case, the state dismissed the charge entirely, and Vega was free to go.
The Diner did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
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