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WARREN -- After a fatal shooting at Park Place 24 Tavern earlier in the week, the bar owner has reached an agreement with Warren officials to permanently close its doors.
City Law Director Enzo Cantalamessa explained the city's actions regarding the bar, which he said has been the site of multiple police calls over the years.
The settlement agreement states Sheldon M. Brogdon Sr., of Southern Boulevard NW, agreed to shut down the bar at 2185 Parkman Road NW, which operated in the location since 2019, to avoid any further action such as a nuisance abatement action.
The bar's liquor permit will be placed under "safekeeping," which the document says can only be removed upon the sale of the now former liquor establishment to a "bonafide purchaser."
Cantalamessa said following the recent fatal shooting early Monday that claimed the life of 20-year-old Nathaniel Bradley, he and the Warren police department consulted about "repeated problems, particularly in the later hours of the day."
He said those problems have taxed the resources of the department.
Cantalamessa said the resolution is no different compared to previous times the city has dealt with "nuisance bars."
Councilman Ron White, D-7th Ward, said he had spoken to the bar owners about the decision to shut down, saying the owners were "between a rock and a hard place."
White said, "I hate to see them forced to close and sell. Being a minority owned business, it's a travesty to the minority community. You have so many scenarios where things could've been done differently and it's terrible that this happened."
The councilman called for more self regulation in preventing acts of violence, saying, "We need to look at it as we're destroying families and the lives of individuals."
In a letter, the owners offered their condolences to the family of the shooting victim.
The owner said their liquor permit never expired, but the bar displayed the wrong permit.
"It was a dream for my family that has been shattered and we have had sleepless nights since this senseless act of violence," the letter reads.
He also states that he had asked "many times" if there could be more police presence at the bar but said they were told "…it couldn't or wasn't allowed. But if there was a noise issue, seven to eight cruisers would arrive."
The letter concludes with the bar owner issuing a thank you to their customers stating, "From the bottom of our hearts we love you and you will be missed. God has other plans for us."
Warren police Chief Eric Merkel could not be reached to respond to the claim by the owner of having been denied police presence at the bar.
Cantalamessa clarified that businesses can choose to hire off-duty uniformed police officers to be security but said that is something "not offered through
the city" but instead offered through the police department and its union. For example, Cantalamessa pointed to security detail for the Italian Festival in downtown Warren, stating that officers choose to work at those events.
Madden's Bar & Grill in Niles, which often has a police vehicle outside, or the medical marijunna dispensary gLeaf Medical of Ohio on Youngstown Road SE, Cantalamessa said the cities or townships don't facilitate that. He said that's between the business and the individual officer describing it as a "side job."
In April, police arrested 26-year-old Amari Williamson on felonious assault charges after she was accused of slicing a woman in the neck at the bar.
The bar faced a shutdown in June 2023 when police were called for reports of bar patrons blocking traffic by parking on a nearby road. The investigation revealed the bar to be overcrowded, and its liquor license expired, forcing a suspension of alcohol sales. In November 2021, a Warren man sustained major injuries after a fight at the tavern escalated to gunfire, resulting in three people wounded. The shooter, Kenyon McGriff, was later sentenced to two years in prison.
Another serious incident involved 37-year-old Kenyanna Pennock, who is serving a 15-years-to-life sentence for the murder of 36-year-old Jesare'e Harris. The incident began outside the tavern when Pennock intentionally drove into Harris, carrying her on the hood for about half a mile at speeds of at least 50 mph before throwing her from the vehicle. Harris succumbed to blunt force trauma to the head six days later.
Safety / Service Director Eddie Colbert said he was part of a meeting with the bar owner about two years ago following an incident where at least one person was shot. In that meeting, Colbert said they had brainstormed ideas to mitigate future incidents from occurring at the bar.
Colbert said ideas included a "self imposed age limit, stemming hours of operation, hiring private security" and he said they had discussed the idea of having a "membership policy."
He said the city has a number of bars that operate with "zero to minimal issues" but said they've had instances of problem bars in the past. As a council member, Colbert recalled being part of an objection to allow Gadd's Olympic Inn, also once located on Parkman Road, to obtain a liquor permit to reopen after it was closed on Aug. 4, 2012, after a woman was struck in the head by a stray bullet. During an appeal hearing, Colbert cited about 27 instances where he said police responded to calls at the bar the year of the shooting incident.
Another formerly troubled bar, the Powerhouse Bar & Grill, also was the subject of inquiries by city officials following instances of violence.
In 2017, former city law director Gregory Hicks applied for a hearing with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control regarding a renewal of the bar's liquor license months after issues were raised by city council members after a 20-year-old man was shot in the stomach and arm outside the bar in July 2017.
Later that year on Oct. 3, 2017, a 22-year-old man walking out of the former 999 Mahoning Avenue NW bar was shot in the forearm and shoulder.
The bar had been the subject of public scrutiny by police and city officials after numerous police calls for shots fired, fights, noise complaints, overdoses, robberies, criminal damage and general disturbances. The bar closed permanently on Oct. 5, 2017, and two days later, the building was heavily damaged by an arson.
On Friday Colbert said, "In many of these instances what happens is the owners, the community and the victims' families suffer but first and foremost you look at that property owner because it can't be a walk in the park for them either. I do believe that's why when the owners (of Park Place 24 Tavern) were presented with the city's position, there wasn't any pushback."
Colbert said when owners find themselves in these positions where it seems they've "lost the ability or don't have the ability to mitigate these circumstances," that the city or government has the ability to step in and do what they can "to protect our citizens."