Toledo man killed in dispute near bar

7/15/2002

A Toledo man died early yesterday after he was beaten following a dispute that police said started in the New Triangle Caf , 1202 Broadway.

Rudy Hernandez, 38, of 2470 Lawton Ave. was pronounced dead at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center at 2:55 a.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police arrested Marcus Torres, 31, of 2422 North Ontario St.; Billy Jack Adams, 22, of 929 North Michigan St., and Daniel Arthur Shanteau, 22, of 314 Wasaon St. at the scene of the beating. Sgt. Tim Noble said police are searching for a fourth suspect, Gerardo Vieyra, Jr., 18, of 2307 North Summit St. in connection with the beating.

Sergeant Noble said the men were in the caf at 2:18 a.m., when a dispute started. He said Mr. Torres, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Shanteau chased Mr. Hernandez out of the bar before catching him at the intersection of Maumee Street and Walbridge Avenue.

Sergeant Noble said police believe the men beat Mr. Hernandez, with one using a pool cue. He said that when officers arrived, Mr. Torres, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Shanteau were arrested.

The death of the South Toledo man renewed a demand from Councilman Bob McCloskey that the South Toledo bar be closed because of the violent behavior of its patrons, something that several nearby community groups supported a year ago.

Mr. McCloskey said he wants the New Triangle Caf padlocked by city officials. Similar enforcement action about four years ago closed the La Garza Ballroom, a nightclub at 1623 Broadway, he said. “It isn't about alcohol,” he said. “It's about crazy people. They get a couple of drinks in them and lose control.”

Building safety violations forced the La Garza nightclub to close shortly after a bouncer was stabbed when he tried to throw out a patron. The La Garza was the scene of fights, assaults, and loud noise, neighbors said.

Joanne Garcia, owner of the New Triangle, denied there was a fight among the men inside her bar yesterday. Mr. Hernandez and his brother, Paul, had been in the bar enjoying drinks early yesterday, she said. The men involved in the fight entered as the bar was about to close and were told they had to leave. She said they left without incident.

“If they had words I didn't hear it and I was standing right next to them,” Mrs. Garcia said.

Fights and assaults linked to the New Triangle have lessened in the last six months, and the owner of the bar stopped renting the building's second floor in the hope it might lessen prostitution in the area, Mr. McCloskey said.

There were police stings last year to arrest prostitutes and several arrests of male customers, he said. But the New Triangle successfully challenged legal proceedings last year to revoke its liquor license.