Hollywood Shakers on Mervill Dean Road in Hollywood. Photo by Ron Bailey
Leonardtown, MD — A Hollywood bar has been fined for an incident last Dec. 20 in which every sheriff’s department unit on duty was called for a disturbance along with back up from the state police and Calvert County officers. The St. Mary’s Alcohol Beverage Board (liquor board) at a March 10 hearing imposed a $1,250 fine after ruling that Hollywood Shakers on Mervill Dean Road was guilty of the charges leveled by the board’s alcohol enforcement officer.
Sean Early and Donny Dunbar, the licensees of the bar formerly known as the Dew Drop Inn, pled not guilty at the beginning of the administrative hearing before the board. But after hearing testimony from five police officers and listening to the explanation from the owners the board ruled the incident did occur and imposed the total fine for three counts. The board also suspended an additional $250 fine.
Deputies James Bare and Herbert Teague testified they were called to the bar for a report of a suspect in the bar with a gun. When they arrived on the scene they saw a large crowd outside the bar and heavy traffic on Mervill Sean Road. They witnessed a car speeding away from the scene. When they entered the bar they tried to find out about the man with the gun but no one was cooperative.
Bare testified he saw a man leave the bathroom with blood running down his face. When he approached the man he [the man] became combative and a fight ensued. The two officers subdued the man on the ground. Two others in the bar then tried to keep the officers from arresting the man and they too were arrested.
The officers said the crowd in the bar was belligerent and calling them names during the entire incident and no security personnel in the bar came for assistance.
Meanwhile, outside two other officers arrived on the scene and confronted an unruly crowd. One female became combative and had to be subdued, further stirring up the crowd. It took approximately 20 police officers to disperse the crowd and four people were arrested.
The officers testified as to the danger in the roadway during the incident as bar patrons sped away. St. Mary’s Deputy Lacy Johnson testified that another officer pushed her off the road before she was narrowly missed being hit by a car. “It’s amazing that no one got struck that night,” she said. The officers all described the early-morning situation as chaotic.
Before the testimony, the board’s alcohol enforcement coordinator Cpl. James Stone, who has been reassigned to a new position, testified that he sat down and talked to the new licensees when they took over the Dew Drop Inn in September of last year. He said he impressed upon them the need for security both inside and outside the bar, especially in the parking lots across the street that are used by the bar’s patrons. He said he talked to them about previous problems at the location.
Dunbar said he wasn’t at the bar Dec. 20 but that there were the security guards on duty. He said there had been a fight earlier and one person was ejected and the manager decided to close the bar early. He alleged that the security personal were identified with names on their shirts. Dunbar alleged a volatile situation was fueled by the arrival of the two police officers.
But none of the police officers said they saw any security personnel either inside or outside. Stone further stated that he sat in an unmarked car the weekend after the incident for six hours and never once saw any security personnel patrolling the parking lots.
The board unanimously ruled against the bar licensees on a 4-0 vote. With board chairman Moses Saldana out of the country, Vice Chair Linda Palchinsky ran the meeting.
The Hollywood Shakers licensees have ten days to pay the fine. They can appeal to circuit court within 30 days.
In other business:
Anderson’s Bar
Robert L Anderson, Jr., licensee of Anderson’s Bar in Clements, received a $1,000 fine with $500 suspended after admitting an unusual violation. The board’s inspector Garland Thomason and the board’s new enforcement coordinator Deputy Greg Oresik during an inspection found three glass jars behind the counter filled with mixed drinks used for shooters. The jars were moldy and apparently had not been approved by the health department.
Anderson said he has since corrected the problem. Board member Kevin Hall said he thought the fine was stiff considering Anderson’s clean record. But board member Aaron Mathis argued that Anderson had been previously warned about using jars that had not be rewashed.
The former Lenny’s
The iconic restaurant which closed late last year will be taking on a new life. The liquor board unanimously voted approvals that will allow the Bollywood Masala Indian restaurant, now in San Souci Plaza in California, to occupy the building across from the Wildewood Center.
Bay Country Liquors
The Bay County Shopping Center at the Route 4/235 intersection is about to be torn down to make way for a major new shopping center that will include a Harris Teeter grocery store. The Bay County Liquors store, which has been in the center for more than 20 years, will relocate to a building in the new center. The board gave the licensee permission to close for nine months beginning in May while his new store is built.
Contact Dick Myers at dick,myers@thebaynet.com