Police brass and Ansonia city lawyers are fed up with Savor Lounge, where a woman was grazed by a bullet as she tried to run away from a brawl at the nightclub Nov. 22.
No arrests have been made.
Police said they have been called to the East Main Street club 24 times since July 5, resulting in seven arrests.
The Valley Indy left a voicemail at the business Tuesday and reached out to the owners through the club’s Facebook page.
The Nov. 22 chaos prompted Ansonia Police Chief Kevin Hale to notify the club’s landlord that the property is in danger of being deemed a “chronic nuisance,” a designation that could — potentially — force the club to close if nothing changes.
“The fact that someone was shot, that will not be tolerated in downtown Ansonia,” said Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini. “To the extent that there’s activity fostering this type of activity, it needs to stop, and it will stop.”
The nightclub at 370 E. Main St. was previously home to Lanza’s, a bar-restaurant, and Mustang Sally’s, a country bar. Both failed to attract crowds to the large venue.
Shots Fired
According to a statement Tuesday from Ansonia Police Lt. Andrew Cota, there was already a heavy police presence outside the club Nov. 22 because of past weekend problems at Savor.
Then a melee broke out. Officers outside heard what sounded like two gunshots in the club. People started running out.
Police couldn’t get in because of the rush of people heading out. Then some of the patrons started fighting. It was about 2:30 a.m.
As cops tried to break up fistfights and take a brawler into custody, they heard another gunshot somewhere outside the club, police said. The officers ran toward Tremont Street, where they found a .45 caliber shell casing.
Cota said officers trying to get into the club to investigate further were delayed between five to 10 minutes because employees locked Savor’s doors.
The manager claimed no shots were fired inside and was “uncooperative,” Cota said.
The female gunshot victim didn’t stick around to talk to police.
About 16 hours after the ruckus, a Hartford-area hospital called Ansonia police saying they treated a woman who said she had been grazed by a bullet at Savor “as she was fleeing from the sound of gunshots within the building.”
The bullet hit her abdomen, but police described her injury as minor. Ansonia detectives interviewed her Nov. 23.
Police then used a warrant to search Savor on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26). They found a bullet in the club and seized Savor’s video system as part of the investigation into the shooting.
The story continues after the photos, which were shared publicly on Savor’s Instagram profile.
Owners
The property is owned by a limited liability company under the control of James Puleri, a Newtown resident with a business address in Oxford.
A publicly listed telephone number for Puleri was not in service Tuesday.
Savor itself is owned by Savor Lounge LLC. Tadjwid Wilson is the only member listed on business records. Wilson’s name is also on Savor’s liquor permit. Wilson lives in New Haven.
Police Chief’s Letter
Chief Hale sent a letter to Puleri Nov. 24 detailing police “calls for service” at Savor. They include:
- Nov. 22, 4:10 a.m.: Numerous fights
- Nov. 22, 2:52 a.m.: Large fight
- Nov. 22, 2:50 a.m.: Shots fired
- Nov. 22, 2:44 a.m.: Disorderly conduct — one arrest made
- Nov. 22, 12:20 a.m.: Crowd control
- Nov. 21, 3:06 a.m.: Gun seized
- Nov. 21, 1:50 a.m.: Recovered stolen motor vehicle — one arrest made
- Nov. 21, 12:58 a.m.: Loud music
- Nov. 8, 2:47 a.m.: Disorderly conduct — two arrests made
- Nov. 1, 2:20 a.m.: Disorderly conduct — one arrest made
- Oct. 30, 1:56 a.m.: Loud music complaint — infraction issued
- Oct. 18, 12:36 a.m.: Argument in front of establishment
- Oct. 11, 3:21 a.m.: Intoxicated person
- Oct. 10, 2:52 a.m.: Multiple physical altercations in doorway
- Oct. 10, 2:31 a.m.: Disorderly conduct — one arrest made
- Sept. 20, 2:32 a.m.: Suspicious activity
- Sept. 13, 1:42 a.m.: Loud noise complaint
- Sept. 12, 3:45 p.m.: Stolen wallet
- Sept. 6, 1:27 a.m.: Intoxicated person transported to the hospital
- Aug. 24, 2:43 a.m.: Assault — no arrests
- Aug. 23, 11:52 p.m.: Assault — no arrests
- Aug. 16, 2:16 a.m.: Altercation in front of establishment
- Aug. 2, 2:13 a.m.: Breach of peace — one arrest made
- July 5, 2:49 a.m.: Disorderly conduct — no arrests
The chief noted that “on a number of these situations, police officers were called in from neighboring departments to assist with removing the large crowds and attempting to keep the peace.”
What’s Next?
City police have referred the alleged problems at Savor to the state’s liquor control authorities.
The chief’s letter formally kicks off a separate, local process that could see Savor close its doors if they don’t address the issues raised by police.
The chief’s letter warns Puleri that his property is in danger of being deemed a “chronic nuisance” under an ordinance adopted by the city’s Aldermen in 2013.
The law gives the city power to deem a property a “chronic nuisance” if three or more “nuisance activities” — for example, disturbances, assaults, drug- or weapons-related activity — are documented there within 60 days.
The letter instructed Puleri to meet with city officials within 10 days to discuss the problems.
That meeting happened Tuesday (Dec. 1), according to John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel.
“We explained the chronic nuisance law, we went over some of the activity that’s constituted the chronic nuisance, we told him the ball’s in his court,” Marini said. “He needs to come up with an abatement plan.”
The “abatement plan” then needs to be OK’d by the city, he said.
The plan could detail how the business and property owner plan to beef up security and crowd control.
“However, if the city doesn’t agree to the proposed plans, if it doesn’t fix the problem, we can impose fines or take other actions,” Marini said.
That could include taking the issue to a judge to close the club.
Derby police sent a similar letter to RJ’s Cafe on Elizabeth Street in 2012 after a series of violent incidents at that property, including a murder.
RJ’s eventually shut down and has been redeveloped as a restaurant.
