Two Ohio brothers — including an Air Force veteran turned influencer — who claim they were “drugged” during a yacht party in the United Arab Emirates were sentenced to jail for alcohol consumption, a law that is strictly enforced in the Middle Eastern nation.
Joseph and Joshua Lopez will each serve a month in prison for the drinking alcohol charge they received while on a “touristic visit to the Emirates” in June, according to Detained in Dubai, an organization dedicated to helping people facing legal issues in the UAE.
The two brothers were enjoying a night out on June 2 when they were brought to two separate “afterparties” and forced to pay massive bills before a woman served them a drink they claimed was drugged.
“They were drugged by locals after being asked to a yacht party by a local resident,” Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling wrote on its website.
Joseph Lopez, who is currently “Mister Louisiana” in the Mister USA competition, had traveled to the UAE with his brother on May 25 hoping to generate luxurious content in the City of Gold.
During their trip, the brothers spent a night out at nightclub Bla Bla before they were approached by an Uber driver who offered to take them to an “afterparty” at a nearby hotel.
They were handed platters of food and drinks they didn’t request, and after 20 minutes the party was over — and the brothers were handed a massive bill to pay.
“It is clear they were targeted by scammers who were wanting to rob them,” Stirling wrote.
The two brothers decided to call it a night when they were reportedly approached by a man who invited them to a yacht party.
Air Force veteran Joseph Lopez — who left the military less than a year ago — explained that he was “done spending for the night,” but the man insisted they were “American guests” and not to worry about spending money.
Onboard the boat, the brothers were given more drinks from the staff, who later charged them $2,722, before one woman offered them another refreshment.
“This girl brought me a drink, and after she brought me this drink, I don’t remember anything,” Joseph Lopez previously told Fox 19 Now.
“They were given one drink onboard the yacht, and the next thing they remember is being taken away by plain-clothed police officers in an unmarked vehicle,” Stirling explained.
Both Lopez and Stirling claim the brothers thought they were being abducted on foreign soil but were instead brought to the Al Barsha police station, where they remained from June 3 to June 12.
“The police did not test their blood for presence of any drugs or sedatives despite the boys’ request for them to do so,” Stirling wrote.
Police charged the brothers with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, damaging a patrol vehicle and alcohol consumption.
They had bonded out but were given a travel ban preventing them from returning to the US.
The brothers will fight the damaging government property and assaulting an officer charges in court on Aug. 20, according to Stirling’s Detained in Dubai post.
Lawyers for the brothers expect a lengthy sentence for those charges with the organization calling the jails “some of the world’s most notorious prisons.”
Stirling blasted the UAE for its treatment of tourists.
“The government portrays that Dubai is a safe and crime-free destination for tourists, but the fact is, we see tourists targeted all the time. Whether it’s financial predators looking to scam visitors like Joseph and Joshua or attacks on women like Selina Waterman Smith, who was abducted and gang-raped,” she wrote.
“The government doesn’t seem to acknowledge crimes in the statistics they provide to the media or tourists. It’s a myth that Dubai is crime-free. They just don’t acknowledge it as it’s bad for business.”
Stirling has asked Ohio politicians — including Republican Rep. Mike Carey, and Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, for diplomatic intervention to get the brothers home.
“Without diplomatic intervention, these boys face potentially years in jails notorious for human rights abuse and torture,” she wrote.
“Joseph Lopez is an Air Force veteran who helps people in difficult situations through his mental health advocacy. He and his brother deserve every effort from the US government to bring him home.”
The brothers had been staying in an Airbnb as they awaited their fate.