There were brawls at two bars this weekend – and the difference in how the police handled publicity on the cases is a story unto itself. But the real story is that four men are recovering from serious injuries: two were shot at Kim’s Bar on Church Street – which is on the south side and two others were massively beaten at the Riverside Tavern on Mapp Street – which is on the northside. Like we said, two brawls, four injured, but handled very differently by police. Keith Swift finds out why.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The ruckus started here - inside the Riverside Tavern Bar at midnight on Friday. This is where manager Dustin Bowen says a small misunderstanding between two men became a big argument between two groups.
Dustin Bowen, Manager – Riverside Tavern
“There was a small misunderstanding at the bar. It led to a fight and then it came into the parking lot.”
That’s when the police arrived. Senior Superintendent Chester Williams says they arrived they found a brawl - or what he described as a commotion - in the parking lot.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams, Deputy Commander – Eastern Division
“Upon arrival – they saw a commotion between two groups of persons.
The police later on managed to command the situation where they detained four persons and two persons were taken to the hospital to undergo treatment.”
Williams confirms that shots were fired in the area - as many as five. But he says those came from outside the compound and didn’t involve any of the suspects.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“We were made to understand that while the commotion someone passed and fired five shots in the air and we do not know who that person is.”
The four men were held in police custody until Saturday evening when they were released.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“Those persons in custody were kept in custody until Saturday evening at which time the other party gave statements to the police indicating that they do not want to pursue any sort of criminal actions against the other party. The other party likewise mentioned they don’t want anything against the next party.”
And so for the police it is case closed. And since they were never charged – police today blankly and repeatedly refused to release the names of any of the men involved.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“We detained the persons because at that time we were concerned as to what might have occurred and as part of our investigation, two were persons were hurt who were transported to the hospital and so those persons in the area were detained until our investigation was through. Because of the fact that these persons requested no action against each other - I will not be releasing names. We the police will not act irresponsibly and release names of people who will not at the end of the day be going to court. I will not say who started
what. These people are not before the court charged for anything. These people have not requested any police action in the matter. I will not say who started it.”
And while it is case closed for the police – it isn’t for the riverside tavern – manager Dustin Bowen says the ruckus cost him $15,000.
Dustin Bowen,
“We did take some damage to our furniture, walls, glassware, and computer and what not but we were able to recover the very next day. We reopened very shortly after we cleaned up at 6 pm on Saturday evening and that everything is okay. We’ve taken the appropriate measures to ensure that our customers are safe and that something like this won’t ever happen again.”
And while Riverside has extensive damages inside, at Kim’s Bar on Church Street the major damage is to the bar’s record with police. Police responded to a report of trouble at Kim’s Bar around 12:30 on Friday night – and were greeted by broken pint bottles and stones.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“Upon the police responded they had to detain an individual and that
caused a commotion at which time police were stoned with pint bottles and rocks an d a group of persons were arrested. As a result of that – shots were fired from out of the crowd and the police fired several warning shots in the air and we believe the shots may have ricocheted and caused injuries to two persons – one who is still hospitalized in the Karl Heusner Hospital with a head injury and one who was grazed in their buttocks.”
The co-manager of Kim’s Bar is Richard Terry. He says his bar was already closed and he watched it unfold from inside.
Richard Terry, Kim’s Bar
“I saw some citizens resisting arrest, citizens being disobedient,
when the police asked them to move – they didn’t want to move; so the police needed to take control of the area to move them and that is the authority of the law.”
And the law also has the authority to close down bars - and Senior Superintendent Chester Williams says they’ll ask the Liquor Licensing Board to close down the popular downtown bar.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“We are very much concerned Keith about the issue of Kim’s Bar and I would be bold enough to say here that this morning’s the liquor licensing board is meeting and we will be strongly objecting to Kim’s Bar getting any liquor license. The area is not a suitable place for the bar to be, it is right on a street corner, the people who go to that bar do not stay in the bar and drink their alcohol, they come on the street, they cause traffic hazard and it is a residential area - people in the neighborhood cannot rest in peace because of the noise coming from the club. So we ill be raising out objections today to Kim’s Bar getting any liquor license.”
Richard Terry says he hasn’t broken any laws - and so there is no reason why his bar should be forced shut.
Richard Terry,
“I’ve made changes already, screening who comes in because I will only function under the law. As of this morning I went to speak to some authority figures and explained to them that basically I don’t follow the opinions of people. It has to be within the context of the law. My jurisdiction is to operate this establishment. Now if I am violating that, then I will make changes.”
The two men injured at the Riverside Tavern are Myron and Luigi Marin. Their injuries are described to us as serious, but as we understand it, with mounting medical bills, they have both been self-discharged from Universal Health Services. In that brawl, Ben Bou-Nehra and Eugene Zabaneh Jr. were initially detained. They were released without charges. From what we’ve been able to understand from multiple eyewitnesses they did not start the fight, and in fact were in another area of the bar when it started. So far, the Marin’s have opted not to press charges.
To fill in some blanks in the police account, according to eyewitnesses, the Tavern brawl started at about 12:30 am. It erupted inside the establishment where it was a furious melee with chairs being hurled across the room. The patrons ran outside and so did the Marin’s who were already significantly injured. When police responded, they ordered that the gates be closed, which kept everyone stuck inside the compound, including the injured Marin’s - for at least another half hour. Eyewitnesses tell us that while the already injured Marin’s were trying to get out, they were attacked again inside their vehicle and that is when police made the detentions.
In the brawl at Kim’s Bar the victims of gunshot injuries were 15 year old Robert Roches and 22 year old Jevon Gonzalez. The teenager was treated and released for a gunshot to his rear end, but Gonzalez was shot to the back of the head and he remains hospitalized.
