The bar where a man was shot and killed in the parking lot in May is in danger of being declared a “chronic nuisance” by Derby Police Chief Gerald Narowski.
According to Derby Police Commission meeting minutes, Narowski sent letters to RJ’s Cafe owner Roney Antico and property owner Alphonse Ippolito earlier this month warning them they’ll receive the designation unless they come up with a plan to deal with issues at the business.
A response from Antico and Ippolio was due June 26.
The Valley Indy called Roney Antico at RJ’s for comment, but he hung up the phone. Antico is the man listed on RJ’s liquor permit.
A “chronic nuisance” designation means the city believes RJ’s presents “grave health, safety and welfare concerns” to the public and sets up a procedure by which Narowski and the business owner meet to find a solution to the problems at RJ’s.
Failing to comply with the process could allow the city to levy a violation of up to $30,000. This is the first time Derby has attempted to use the local chronic nuisance ordinance, which was adopted by the Board of Aldermen in April 2011.
Narowski is off this week and not available to comment. A copy of the letter was also not available Tuesday. The Valley Indy sent the Derby Police Department a request for the letter under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Editor’s Note: The Derby Police Department provided the Valley Indy with a copy of the letters Wednesday, June 27.
Javon Zimmerman, 22, was shot and killed at about 2 a.m. May 12 in the parking lot at RJ’s. Derby police charged 24-year-old Cordaryl Silva with Zimmerman’s murder on June 18.
The homicide in the parking lot was the culmination in a number of incidents at RJ’s, according to past correspondence between Narowksi and the Derby Board of Aldermen.
Click here for a past Valley Indy story on the incidents.
In a July memo, Narowski referenced violence at the business.
“The department has been called to RJ’s Cafe on Elizabeth Street numerous times for disturbances and fights over the past month,” Chief Narowski wrote July 22. “The department has been reacting to these calls with an increased walking beat presence in the area and aggressive enforcement action.”
The day after Narowksi’s July 22 memo, a fight in the bar spilled out into the parking lot. Someone fired a gun into the air several times, police said at the time.
Police estimated there were 50 people in the parking lot during the fight.
Chief Narowksi also referenced RJ’s Cafe in a memo to Derby Aldermen on Aug. 17, 2011. In that memo, the chief said police handled about 10 complaints involving the bar in the previous two weeks.
Liquor Control Commission
RJ’s was closed for a a day on May 14 as penalty for violating several liquor laws. The bar also had to pay a $500 fine.
The incidents were as follows, according to a spokesperson for the state Department of Consumer Protection:
June 18, 2011: At 2:15 a.m., Derby police entered the bar and saw 10 to 15 people inside the bar. The bar was supposed to have closed at 2 a.m., as per state law. In addition, about five people were still drinking alcohol and “patrons were leaving the premises with open containers of alcohol and bottles of beer.”
June 20, 2011: A customer left the bar with a full bottle of Miller beer.
July 23, 2011: A fight inside the bar spilled into the parking lot.
Aug. 19, 2011: The bar allowed smoking inside and the bar was hosting a Giants betting pool. In addition, fruit flies were seen inside a bottle of Clan MacGregor whiskey.
