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Alchemy Owner Can’t Shake Assault Charge

by Melissa Bailey | Feb 19, 2010 4:15 pm

(8) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Legal Writes, Downtown

The bar owner and five bouncers roughed him up. When the young clubgoer escaped, they followed him across the street and kicked him in the face.

Melissa Bailey Photo That’s how police described the beating of a bar patron, recorded on videotape, outside the Alchemy Nightclub on Crown Street last February. Alchemy owner Rommerro Farrah was charged with first-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment for his role in the attack. He was released after posting a $100,000 bond.

The bar owner doesn’t deny being involved in the fight. But his lawyer said there’s more to the story, and he doesn’t deserve to go to jail.

Farrah, who’s 50, appeared in Superior Court on Elm Street Friday poised to resolve his case.

But after his alleged victim objected, he ended up on a path toward a jury trial, where he faces up to 20 years behind bars.

“They nearly killed me,” said his alleged victim, Steven Lunn, in an interview in court Friday. He said he was punched, kicked in the face, and strangled until he passed out, while his attackers told him to “Go to sleep, little boy.”

Lunn’s nose was broken when Farrah “stomped on his face,” according to his attorney, Alexander Scheirer. Lunn said he still can’t breathe through his nose and needs surgery to fix it. He has been doggedly following Farrah’s case ever since the assault on Feb. 1, 2009. He said he’s bent on seeing his attacker brought to justice.

Not So Fast

Farrah showed up in Courtroom A Friday morning wearing a suit and carrying a bright yellow file folder. His graying hair was neatly trimmed. The bar owner, who lives in West Hartford, has no prior criminal record.

He tried to resolve the charges against him through a program for first-time offenders called accelerated rehabilitation (AR).

Under AR, defendants pay $135 and get a probation period of between one day and two years. If the defendant completes the probation period with good behavior, then the case gets wiped off his or her record. In applying for AR, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt, but acknowledges that the charges could result in imprisonment.

Farrah applied for AR on Jan. 29. On Friday, Judge Bruce Thompson was set to rule on his request.

But Lunn didn’t let Farrah shake the case that easily. He came to court poised to object to the AR application, on the grounds that the attack was too brutal, and the defendant did not have “good cause” to be granted AR.

Lunn, a small man in his early 20s, appeared in court wearing jeans and chic, square-toe dress shoes. He walked into court with Marissa Bigelli, an attorney from Scheirer’s office. He was prepared to make the case against Farrah. He said the attack has affected him physically—he doesn’t sleep well at night because he can’t breathe through his nose—and psychologically, too.

“I’m always constantly looking over my shoulder when I’m out,” he said.

Lunn said he has showed up to every court date since Farrah was arrested on March 15, 2009. He didn’t get to testify Friday, after all.

Farrah and his attorney, John Carta, made a brief appearance before Judge Thompson around 10:45 a.m. Carta asked Judge Thompson for permission to withdraw his request for AR, without prejudice, in light of discussions with the victim’s attorney. The judge granted his request and set a new court date for March 18.

After court, Carta said his client withdrew the request because he knew the judge wouldn’t grant AR if the victim objected. He said he’ll first try to work out a settlement to pay the victim’s medical bills. If they fail to strike a deal, the case would head to a jury trial, Carta said.

Friday was Farrah’s second attempt to resolve the case. His lawyer earlier moved to dismiss the case, because the state had not produced a videotape of the incident. Then the state turned over the tape, and his client switched tracks and applied for AR.

Attorney Bigelli, who represented Lunn in court Friday, said her client opposed to AR in part because the attack was so brutal. It was very forceful, she said, and it happened not just once, but twice.

A Police Account

The police report bears out that description. Officer Peter Krause investigated the case after Lunn called to report the incident about 14 hours after the assault. Based on interviews with Lunn and another witness, and after viewing the videotape, Krause identified Farrah as one of the attackers and arrested him on March 15. No one else was arrested in the assault.

Here’s what happened, according to Krause’s police report: 

Krause got a call from Lunn at 4:25 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2009. Lunn reported being attacked at 2:45 a.m. that day, as a party was winding down at Club Elevate at 215 Crown St., the after-hours club affiliated with and adjacent to Alchemy Nightclub. Lunn told police he and his friends were ejected from Club Elevate, and as they were leaving, staff members slapped Lunn several times. The fight then spilled out into the street. Lunn reported being attacked by “six to seven Club Elevate staff members” in the north lane of Crown Street, outside Club Elevate.

When Lunn ran to the other side of the street to get away, the bouncers followed him, according to the report. Lunn was again attacked by the same group.

Lunn was “knocked to the ground and then kicked in the face by Romero, the owner of Club Elevate,” Krause’s report reads. Lunn suffered cuts to his face, swelling and bruising, and a broken nose in the “brutal attack.”

The entire post-bar beating was recorded by a surveillance camera at Club Oracle across the street, Krause wrote. Club Oracle turned over the tape to the cops. Krause watched the tape. It shows Lunn attacked by six males, including one 5-foot-8-inch man whom Krause recognized as “Romero” from the club scene, according to the police report.

The video shows “Romero” and the posse of men following Lunn across the street after the first beating, according to Krause. “Romero” was active in both assaults. In the second attack, the video shows “Romero” punching and kicking the victim, Krause wrote.

Krause also took testimony from a woman who said she was at the scene that night. And he checked with police and found out that the ‘Romero’ he recognized from the video was Rommerro Farrah, the owner of Alchemy Nightclub and Club Elevate.

Attorney Scheirer said the video is quite graphic. He said he was “taken aback” when he watched it.

Video footage shows Lunn lying on the ground in a fetal position while six men attacked him, Scheirer said.

“I feared for my life,” said Lunn Friday.

“They strangled me and choked me until I passed out,” he said. “They were telling me, ‘Go to sleep, little boy,’ ‘Go to sleep, little boy.’”

Farrah’s attorney, Carta, declined to address those allegations, but indicated there was more to the story. He said the fight began inside the club, where Lunn refused bouncers’ orders to leave.

“There was a lot more than what was in the police report,” Carta said.

He said his client was unfairly singled out. Bar fights “happen all the time,” he said, but usually, all parties are arrested—including whoever claims to be a victim.

“I don’t know why they cherry-picked and just picked one guy,” Carta said.

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posted by: Zoo Haven on February 19, 2010  5:17pm

New Haven definitely needs more night-clubs. Particularly the after-hours ones. They represent the city so, so well….

posted by: Bruce on February 19, 2010  5:32pm

They should arrest all the bouncers and close the club.  It doesn’t matter what else happened inside, a brutal attack like this is never justified.  Bouncers should do what they can to establish order in the club and protect patrons— no need to follow someone across the street after they have left the club.

posted by: Anon on February 19, 2010  7:18pm

I agree with Carta police usually arrest the victim and everyone else, except when there is videotape produced immediately and/or the complaint came from a hospitalized victim, clearly 10 times more messed up than his alleged attackers; Or in the case of that incident with Rob Smuts and Moti et al where they were city officials.

I think this club owner is sleeze and is no good for downtown. I think his clubs should be shut down.

I think we need quality homegrown, owner operated clubs downtown, but not his kind.

The “alchemy” of this sort of thing is no philosopher’s stone and ain’t “elevating” anything good.

posted by: Walt on February 20, 2010  7:52am

From what we know so far,  Bruce is right.

If Downtown is to be Bar Central,  cops need to protect us.

Good job cops.

posted by: alchemy on February 20, 2010  12:49pm

This is disturbing.  What happened inside is only relevant in that if additional crimes took place inside by either the victim or anyone else they should be addressed.  But whatever happened inside cannot justify this.  What a bunch of thugs.  Are the rest of the bouncers being prosecuted, or will these same bouncers continue working there? 

Bar fights “happen all the time,” - since when is six thugs kicking a guy in a fetal position a “bar fight”?

posted by: spt on February 21, 2010  8:45am

The corner of Chapel and temple thug mentality.

posted by: Debbie Henry on February 23, 2010  9:43pm

This is happening everywhere, this young man is alive my son is not. We have been fighting to get national attention focused on this problem. Sense 2004. Here is Scott’s story. 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-us-provide-national-legislation-for-bouncer-training-licensing-and-felony-background-checks
Scott had not been drinking, he was the designated driver, it was all caught on tape and even after a jury trial the thug is free. Can we please do something? Our laws need to be changed. Stronger punishment,stronger laws. Debbie Henry

posted by: John Bethke on February 24, 2010  10:44pm

Crown St. is a zoo at closing time every week-end! The police block it off at College St. until they can clear the sidewalks.

The smell of marijuana is strong, people are openly drinking, making noise and fighting.

Most of these individuals, like the club owners themselves, don’t even live in New Haven! Still, it’ all seen as being “Our problem”.

The problem is that in the interest of bringing money into the city these clubs are allowed to do pretty much whatever they want!

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