Former owner of Turkey Leg Hut, 2 others indicted in connection with 2020 Bar 5015 fire, records say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Lyndell "Lynn" Price, the former owner of Third Ward's now-closed Turkey Leg Hut, has been arrested and indicted in connection with a 2020 explosion of a popular bar that officials deemed was "intentionally set," according to the U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Officials said 42-year-old Price and Armani Williams, 27, and John Lee Price, 39, appeared before a magistrate judge on Friday. Lynn Price did not have his bond set.

The indictment, handed down earlier in April, alleged that Price and the others conspired to set fire to Houston's Bar 5015. The bar's owner, Steven Rodgers, was a former co-owner of the Turkey Leg Hut and Price's former business partner.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Owner of bar where intentional explosion happened in 'disbelief'

Charging documents alleged that on June 12, 2020, Price, the owner of the Oyster Hut on Emancipation Avenue, recruited a group of people, including Williams and John, to pour gasoline on the bar's entrance ramp before igniting the fire. The building eventually exploded, leaving it ruined.

According to documents, Lynn Price paid the group for the act.

Former Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Pena said that multiple gas containers were found near the scene.

"First, it was just disbelief," bar owner Steven Rodgers said in an older exclusive interview with ABC13.

The bar was eventually restored and was fully operational.

This is not the first instance of Lynn Price's run-ins with law enforcement. The booming staple, Turkey Leg Hut, was in a lock-horn legal battle after Price owed about $4.7 million to creditors and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

SEE ALSO: Turkey Leg Hut owner files bankruptcy to 'reposition and strengthen' business

Price owned it with his ex-wife, Nakia Holmes.

The business later caught fire in early 2024 before shutting its doors indefinitely.

Before the fire, another indictment alleges that in April 2020, Lynn Price paid others to set fire to a stolen blue 1975 Chevy Nova.

All involved are charged with conspiracy to commit arson and arson and face up to 20 years in prison, along with a $250,000 maximum fine.

Lynn and John were additionally charged with conspiracy to use an interstate facility to commit arson of a vehicle and could receive another five years if convicted, officials said.

SEE ALSO: Suspects caught on camera dumping liquid at Houston bar that exploded

HFD says the guys in the video above are still out there, and may have even been burned. When you see how much ignitible liquids were dumped at Bar 5015, you'll understand why.

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