AMITE - Area residents celebrated the shutdown of a strip club after the St. Helena Parish Sheriff's Office raided the site over the weekend. The establishment's owners insist the closure is not permanent.

Deputies and agents from multiple law enforcement groups raided The Mansion Gentlemen’s Club, also called Butler's Bar and Grill, in the early hours of Sunday, Aug. 30, after 14 months of investigation. Twenty-one different individuals were arrested, including the establishment's owners, employees and patrons. Most of the charges involve drug and firearm possession.

Sheriff Clay Chutz said his deputies are still reviewing the evidence to see whether more charges or arrests are possible.

This is not the first time law enforcement tried to shut down The Mansion.

In Feb. 2018, the State of Louisiana filed a lawsuit against Tyronne Butler for property seized as a result of a tri-parish task force, which included thousands of dollars, according to court records. The investigation took place from Nov. to Dec. 2017 and involved undercover law enforcement agents posing as customers. On Dec. 1, 2017, multiple law enforcement and state agencies joined the St. Helena Sheriff's Office in executing a search warrant at The Mansion. There, according to court documents, agents found illegal activity related to narcotics and prostitution.

In June 2018, a judge in the 21st Judicial District Court dismissed the civil asset forfeiture case. In Sept. 2018, 21st Judicial District Attorney Scott Perrilloux told The Advocate his office did not pursue criminal charges for the 13 people arrested in the raid partly due to the conduct of law enforcement agents. Court records from the civil case shared that certain members of law enforcement touched employees and engaged in sex acts.

Court documents identify Tyrone Butler as the business owner. Jail records indicate deputies took both a "Tyrone Butler Jr." and "Tyron Butler Sr." into custody over the weekend during the Aug. 2026 raid.

WBRZ visited The Mansion on Wednesday. There, a man who identified himself as a co-owner of the business but declined to share his name said the closure was only temporary and claimed deputies conducted the raid illegally. The individual also said any drugs found on the premises were inside the cars of patrons or dancers and not directly associated with the club. He also shared that deputies arrested him during the weekend raid.

When the principal owner of the establishment, Tyrone Butler, arrived at the club on Wednesday afternoon, Butler declined to comment on the raid or the arrests and said he had to go bond more people from jail who had been arrested over the weekend.

The establishment is located less than three miles away from the Montpelier community. Those who live in the area, like Montpelier Baptist Church Pastor Rusty Durand, said The Mansion is a "moral blight."

"There shouldn't even be such a thing. For us to have to tolerate one right at our front door for years and years, and it operates at the lowest levels that this business operates has just been a pain," Durand said.

Durand is hopeful the closure, as the Sheriff insisted, will be permanent.

"Hopefully, this will stop them from operating, the cash flow will be shut down, and they'll be able to stay closed," Durand said. "There's plenty of things in the world you can do besides running a strip club."