Officers responding to the scene of a reported stabbing at a Derby pool hall last month arrived to find a macabre scene.
A police report on file at Superior Court in Milford says there was blood on the floor of the street entrance and blood leading up the stairs to “Breaktime at Jaks” at 137 Main St. in the early hours of Feb. 22.
The pool hall’s second-floor landing area had several bloody spots, the report says — and vomit pooled in a large puddle.
And in the pool hall’s main room there was blood in several areas, along with broken, blood-smeared cue sticks which had used as weapons during the incident. Bloody napkins and towels were scattered throughout the room.
What triggered the brawl, which sent a 26-year-old man to the hospital with multiple stab wounds?
An argument over a seat at the bar.
That’s what Alexander Zeilik, 32, the only person charged in the connection with the fight, told police hours after the brouhaha, according to the police report on file in Superior Court in Milford.
‘Everything Was Fine’
Police interviewed Zeilik and a male relative of his at Griffin Hospital, where they were being treated for injuries. The relative was not arrested.
Zeilik told police that he got to the bar about 11:45 p.m. Feb. 21 and that “everything was fine” until a man came up to him and told him that he was sitting in the man’s seat.
The report noted Zeilik’s pants were covered in blood, he had and scrapes on his face, a swollen ankle, and one of his finger nails was hanging off.
Police took photographs of the injuries and Zeilik promised to go to the police station to give a statement.
Footage from security cameras from the bar from about 1 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. early Feb. 22 show Zeilik and his relative sitting next to each other at the bar, according to the report.
An unidentified person then leaves his stool and walks off camera, the report says, and Zeilik sits in the vacated stool. After about a minute, the unidentified person returns and starts talking to Zeilik.
About another minute later, the report says, Zeilik stands up and knocks the stool over. Then a group gathers and faces Zeilik and his relative and there is an exchange of words.
Bottles Swung, Chairs Thrown
The group opposing the two dwindles from about 10 to three people, according to the report. After more words, the report says the footage depicts Zeilik raising a beer bottle with his right hand to hit the person at the bar.
The man is seen falling backward on a bar stool while another unidentified person grabs Zeilik from behind and knocks him off his feet.
The footage also depicts Zeilik’s relative in a scuffle with about four other people, during which one of them throws a chair at him, according to the report.
Zeilik then approaches the man with an unknown object in his hand and hits the man in the face with it, according to the report.
After the fight breaks up momentarily, Zeilik and his relative are separated and standing apart from the crowd, the report says.
Zeilik’s relative then grabs a cue stick from a nearby table “and begins to swing it in the air, point it at other people, and bang it on the ground in a taunting manner.”
Another altercation starts between Zeilik’s relative and the man Zeilik hit with an object, and as Zeilik’s relative raises a cue stick as if to swing it at the man, another person grabs him from behind.
Stabbing Allegation
The footage then depicts Zeilik approaching that person, the report says, after which he “begins to stab him repeatedly in the lower left side of his back.”
The fight then breaks up as police begin to arrive, during which an officer sees Zeilik drop the knife on a second-floor landing leading to the street.
The stabbing victim was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was treated for seven puncture wounds to his lower back, a cut to his left forearm that “went to the bone,” a broken finger, and a concussion.
While at the hospital the man gave a statement to a detective saying he was about to leave the bar when the fighting broke out.
He allegedly told police he saw someone swinging a cue stick at his friend and went to stop the person. The man thought someone else was punching him from behind but was then told by friends he’d been stabbed.
Case Pending
After an initial interview at the hospital, police — two sergeants, a detective, and two officers — then went to Zeilik’s Derby residence, less than 100 feet from the pool hall. After police knocked on his door, the report says Zeilik emerged on crutches and said: “You couldn’t wait til I came to the station?”
He was then charged with first-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment.
Zeilik was held in lieu of $250,000 bond and arraigned at Superior Court in Derby Feb. 23, where his bond was lowered to $175,000, which he posted and was released.
While out, Zeilik must stay away from the pool hall and cannot contact any of the people with whom he was accused of fighting. On March 8 the case was transferred to Milford Superior Court, which handles more serious matters.
A message was left with Zeilik’s lawyer, Edward Gavin, Wednesday morning.
