Club 106 closed pending full hearing
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STEUBENVILLE -- Club 106 is closed until owner Derek Smith can prove it's not a public nuisance.
Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese issued a temporary order Friday barring anyone but Smith himself from going into the building, located at 601 South St., pending the outcome of a full hearing tentatively set for Sept. 1.
"The evidence is unrefuted so there's really nothing to weigh," Bruzzese told Smith, who represented himself at the hearing. "It's all on one side, so I have to grant the injunction."
City officials had filed suit against Smith July 7, asking the court to declare his after-hours social club a public nuisance and issue an injunction forcing it to close.
Smith claimed he didn't know there was a hearing until Friday, telling the judge he "got the letter in the mail this morning, I opened it this morning, luckily," and said he assumed his attorney, Aaron Miller, would also have been notified.
But the nuisance suit and motion for an injunction were filed July 7 and court records show repeated efforts were made to deliver the summons in person and by certified mail, but the letters were "not claimed." With the court's permission, the information was sent to Smith by regular mail on Aug. 11.
Bruzzese pointed out Miller, who is representing Smith on multiple criminal charges alleging illegal sale of alcohol and keeper of a place where beer or intoxicating liquors are sold, furnished, or given away, had not filed a notice of appearance in the civil case.
Smith said his attorney would be there "in a few minutes," but after a 10-minute delay to the start of the hearing he opted to proceed without him after Bruzzese told him he could request a continuance, but if he did, "the statute says the (temporary) injunction is automatically granted."
"You don't have to continue it," Smith told the judge. "Go forward without him if we have to."
The only witness called by City Attorney Costa Mastros, Jason Skinner of the Ohio Investigative Unit in Akron, told Bruzzese a confidential informant paid the $15 cover charge to get into Club 106 and bought Bud Lights on three separate occasions -- June 4, June 11 and June 25 - and allegedly witnessed other patrons exchanging money for drinks.
Skinner testified he had the club under surveillance prior to executing a search warrant on June 30 and, seeing Smith leave the club, followed his silver Infinity to Kroger where he allegedly witnessed him purchasing "two large boxes with multiple bottles" of Hennessy, Patron and other liquors that he transported to Club 106 and, with the help of another individual, unloaded and wheeled into the club.
He said when they executed the warrant, unit agents and members of the Jefferson County Drug Task Force discovered 30 bottles of spiritous liquors, 32 partial bottles of intoxicating liquors, 73 unopened bottles and cans of beer and one can of intoxicating liquor, as well as price lists for beer, liquor and mixers, along with marijuana paraphernalia, a bag of suspected marijuana, a digital scale, a bag of pills and several bottles of liquor that were allegedly found in the office.
Smith was arrested after the warrant was executed and charged with three counts of illegal sale of alcohol and four counts of being the keeper of a place where beer or liquor is sold, furnished, or given away without a permit.
Before allowing Smith to question the witness, Bruzzese cautioned him anything he said could be used against him in his criminal case.
"This is all being taken down verbatim," Bruzzese said. "... You do what you want to do, but I want you to be aware of that."
Smith proceeded with his questions, asking Skinner if OIU had sent an informant or an undercover officer into the club.
"We do both," Skinner replied. "It depends on the situation. Obviously, we cover 16 counties and a lot of situations are different. It just depends on the situation. Agents go in and make purchases, informants do as well."
But he told Smith informants aren't sent in with audio and visual surveillance capabilities.
"So you can't be 100 percent sure he actually did this, you just have to take his word for it, right?" Smith asked.
"Well, we were ... able to observe his vehicle outside the location, detectives were able to observe when he went in the location and when he came back out," Skinner replied.
"But not exactly what he did while he was in there," Smith countered. "So he could have had a bottle of beer in his back pocket and come out and said, 'I bought this.' It's possible."
When Skinner conceded it was, Smith interrupted, saying, "OK, just to be clear, I'm not making accusations here, just that it was possible."
Smith also pointed out the city has fought his efforts to get a liquor license on at least three prior occasions. The Ohio Department of Liquor Control canceled his last license in 2014.
"This ain't the first time we had to see each other," Smith reminded him. "One of the previous instances we saw each other, I can distinctly remember you saying 'why don't you just get a liquor license?' I told you then I tried on three successive occasions...but every time I try to get a liquor license they oppose."
He also argued injunctive relief was premature since the criminal charges aren't scheduled for trial until later this month.
"I don't even like the word 'nuisance' because my social club is anything but a nuisance," Smith said. "We have done so much good in this this community. These misdemeanor charges (against me) ... who's harmed, who's nuisanced? I don't see anyone being bothered. I really don't understand that part."
Smith said he disagrees with "the city's insinuation" that Club 106 is a nuisance.
"If you know anything about the city, there's a whole lot more good than nuisance that comes out of this place ... we help every year with back-to-school, free haircuts. We do a whole lot of things -- nuisance is not one of them. It's a known fact that had it not been for 106, there would be a lot more chaos in this city. I try my best to resolve some of the issues that plague the city … it's a social club," he said, though conceding everybody who goes there "is not an angel."
"I don't really think I do much harm, I think I do more good than harm. I don't agree with the nuisance, I won't ever accept that. I know what I do is way more than that."
Mastros, though, pointed to the "shootings, multiple fights" that have happened in and outside the club, reminding Bruzzese it's been ordered closed three other times.