New Star Nightclub goes to court

OLCC judge hears charges of lies, coverup by owner

 

Lee Perlman

THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

 

The fate of the New Star Restaurant, and owner Phuong Truong’s liquor license, hinge on how an Oregon Liquor Control Commission administrative law judge views the events of April 14, 2001.

 Through sworn testimony it became clear that on that occasion there was a fight within and without the premises at 11340 N.E. Halsey St. during which two men were hit with pool cues, one badly enough to need emergency medical care. What Judge Charlotte Rutherford must determine, after two and a half days of testimony and debate, are:

 Was New Star owner Phuong Truong aware of what was happening?  If so, did she attempt to stop the fight or call the police or order them to be called, and if not why not?

 Most importantly, did she deliberately lie about the matter to OLCC investigators?

 The problem on the night in question started about 11:30 p.m. when Andrea Maier, her fiancé Joe Jean, his brother Clint and their friends Coury and Derrick. By their own admission, all except Clint Jean had been drinking heavily since 9 o’clock. The New Star was fairly quiet and empty, but a group of about 20 people, most of them of Asian descent, were gathered around the pool tables. According to their testimony, three of the men of the Jean-Maier party also began to play; the fourth, Coury, was by then so drunk as to be oblivious to his surroundings. He failed to move from his seat to allow an Asian player access to the table, and Joe brushed against another Asian while walking past him. Shortly thereafter, both men were hit with cues, and Coury was knocked to the floor. (According to a New Star employee, at some point one of the white men uttered a racist epithet.) Bouncer Josh Dornfeld pushed Joe Jean out of the premises, while Clint helped Coury to get to his feet and exit. (Maier and Derrick had stepped outside before the fight started.) The conflict continued with Joe set upon by several people - as many as 10 or as few as two, for 10 minutes or less than one, depending on the account. It ended when an Asian woman screamed that the police were coming, and she and her friends scattered. The Jean party lingered to wait for the police - and argue with the New Star staff about why they didn’t intervene - for ten minutes before driving to the hospital. It is a matter of record that no one called the police that night.

 Although it is the only infraction recorded against New Star in more than a year of operation, OLCC regulatory staff is proposing that its liquor license not be renewed. There are four reasons for this.

 First is the history that Truong inherited. Under the previous owner, as Eight Balls of Fire, the premises were the scene of several incidents of unruly behavior and fights, plus some cases of patrons being stopped for driving under the influence. Owner Scott Detweiler nearly lost his license, and retained it only by having restrictions attached to it. City and OLCC officials told Truong early on she’d have to do better if she hoped to stay in business.

 Then there was the severity of the fight. OLCC staff was critical of the New Star staff’s failure to do more to control the fight, and very critical of their failure to report the incident to the police.

 Worst of all, however, in two subsequent interviews with OLCC staff, Phuong said that there had been no fight other than some “pushing and shoving,” and no need to report the incident. In effect, she stands accused of lying.

 Nancy Carter, who presented staff’s case, noted that in two interviews with OLCC staff Truong had declared that no one had been hit with a pool cue, that there had been no blood shed and no “physical altercation beyond pushing and shoving.” (The apparent contradiction was discussed at length. In her testimony at the hearing Truong said she had been unable to see the early part of the fight, but that she had intervened and called to her employees several times, “Call the police!” Carter questioned why Truong and her attorney, Michael Mills, had not called any witnesses to corroborate her account. Carter herself called waitress Chrissy Jarrett, who said that Truong had told her not to mention people being hit with cues.

 “There’s overwhelming evidence that Ms. Truong selfishly lied to the commission staff, showing no regard for the welfare of her patrons,” Carter said. “She didn’t call because she knew the fight would count against her ability to get a permanent license.” Based on this, she is “a poor risk for future license consideration.”

 Mills argued that Truong’s apparent contradictions were due to her being “misunderstood” by license investigator Charles Ellis. He complained that staff didn’t ask Truong to supply a written statement, didn’t tape record their interviews with her, and that the only record was inspector Peggy Mullen’s “cryptic” notes.

 He dismissed the Jean party’s testimony by saying that they had been drinking heavily, that they contradicted each other on details, and that staff obviously agreed or they would have brought additional charges. (Asked about the length of his fight, and who witnessed it, Joe Jean replied, “When I’m being beaten I’m not really keeping track of time. I was concentrating on defending myself and not losing consciousness.” He implied that they were responsible for the fight by uttering a “racial epitaph” (sic). Neither of Joe Jean’s male comrades tried to break up the fight or help him, Mills said, and Jean and Maier spent another five minutes arguing with Dornfeld before heading to the hospital, indicating that the injuries were “not as life- threatening as OLCC would have you believe.” He quoted Dornfeld as saying Jean asked that an ambulance not be called; in view of this, and a sober Clint Jean ready to drive, “It calls into question the allegation that these patrons were ‘denied medical attention.’” He added that given how quickly the fight ended (by one account), “There’s no indication that if the police were called they could have arrived in time to stop the fight or render medical assistance.”

 According to Truong’s testimony and her employees’ statements, they intervened quickly to stop the fight. Cook Betty Toda confirmed that Truong shouted, “Call the police!” No one did, Toda said, because they assumed that Jarrett would. “It’s entirely possible that (Truong) did not see the pool cue used,” Mills said. “By the time she came over, it’s entirely possible Joe Jean was already outside.”

 Mills called only three witnesses: Truong, state representative Jeff Merkley and state senator Frank Shields. Merkley said that he had visited the New Star twice and had found it “clean and well-run. I’d have no discomfort going there with my wife.” He also stated that Mill Park Neighborhood Association chair Arlene Kimura had told him no one on her board had had recent problems with New Star. Carter objected to the testimony as irrelevant. (Editor’s note: Kimura is chair of the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association. Kimura told the Memo that although none of her board had personal complaints about New Star, they were unhappy that Truong had been trying to remove license restrictions she had agreed to months before and that Hazelwood Neighborhood Association did not support the license renewal.)

 Mills did not call the employees present, he said, because “we had no reason to. We had no dispute with what they said or what they saw.” If Carter had reason to believe these statements were false, “She had every opportunity to ask all the questions she wanted to.”

 In rebuttal, Carter said it was not credible that Truong would not, at least, have seen Coury lying on the floor, or blood on Dornfeld’s shirt that several people testified to. She also noted that, according to Maier and Clint Jean, Maier came into the bar and screamed that Joe Jean was “being (expletive) murdered!”

 Rutherford and Carter clashed frequently during the hearing. Rutherford usually sustained Mills’ procedural objections, over- ruled Carter’s, and several times seemed openly exasperated with her. One such instance occurred when Carter alleged that Jarrett, whose statement had already been introduced into evidence, had lied. “You’re going to rebut your own witness?” She asked. “That destroys her credibility entirely.” When Carter tried to introduce Joe Jean’s bloody shirt into evidence Rutherford said, “What is that going to tell me that the testimony and the medical records won’t? I don’t want to take that home with me, I really don’t.”

 Later, during her summary, Carter asked for a minute of silence to show how long this time can seem to someone engaged in a fight. “Other people said it lasted different amounts of time,” Rutherford said impatiently. “If this is for dramatic effect, it’s not affecting me. Just get on with your presentation.”

 Rutherford is expected to take from one to two months to complete her findings. It is considered a certainty that either Truong or staff will then bring the case to the OLCC commission.