Letters from the Derby chief of police cite seven incidents — including a murder and two alleged parking lot drug deals — that have caused the city to consider declaring RJ’s Cafe at 148 Elizabeth St. a “chronic nuisance.”
Chief Gerald Narowski sent letters June 6 to RJ’s owner Roney Antico and property owner Alphonse Ippolito telling them they needed to schedule a time to meet with him by June 26 to address his concerns.
It is unclear whether Antico and Ippolito scheduled a meeting with the chief. Antico hung up the phone on a reporter seeking comment Tuesday. A message seeking comment was left with Ippolito Wednesday.
The Valley Indy has sought comment from Antico four times since May 12.
If the property is declared a chronic nuisance, the city could issue a civil violation punishable by a fine of up to $30,000, according to the chief’s letters.
The letters, along with the local “chronic nuisance ordinance,” is posted at the end of this story.
The chief mentions seven alleged “nuisance” activities within 60 days that have triggered the action:
1. The May 12 murder of 22-year-old Javon Zimmerman in the parking lot.
2. On the same night of Zimmerman’s murder, a bar patron was seen leaving the establishment and making a drug deal “to an awaiting motorist.” The motorist was arrested for possessing narcotics.
3. On May 6, police “dispersed” a large crowd from the bar’s parking lot at 2:12 a.m.
4. On May 5, police dispersed a large crowd from the parking lot at 2:08 a.m.
5. On April 28, a police dispersed a large crowd from the parking lot at 2:03 a.m.
6. On April 7, police allege that a drug deal went down in the bar’s parking lot. Cops stopped the vehicle and allegedly recovered 13 bags of crack cocaine.
7. On March 25, officers observed a domestic dispute in a vehicle parked on Elizabeth Street “just outside” RJ’s parking lot. The people involved were intoxicated and had just left RJ’s. They were arrested for assault and interfering with police.
The Valley Indy submitted a Freedom of Information request for the chief’s letters June 26. They were sent to the Valley Indy June 27.
Narowski, in publicly-available memos sent to the Derby Board of Aldermen, has previously called RJ’s a source of concern for local police. Click here for more information.
