Trio faces charges after brawl
Incident occurred Saturday at Spare Times Bowling Alley
HALFMOON, N.Y. >> Three more people are facing criminal charges involving a brawl Saturday at a Halfmoon bowling alley during a private party.
Davion T. Davis, 27, Richard A. Peterkin, 33, and James S. Scott, 22, all of Albany, were charged with inciting a riot, a class A misdemeanor. They were arraigned in Halfmoon Town Court and released on their own recognizance.
According to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, all three encouraged a crowd at Spare Times Bowling Alley on Route 9 to disregard police instructions to disperse and to continue engaging in violent behavior.
In addition the owners of the bowling alley are facing more than a dozen code violations.
At midnight March 4, deputies responded to an emergency call reporting a disturbance inside the bowling alley. According to police reports of the incident, the manager of the lanes told police there was a private event taking place inside and the crowd had grown in size and become unruly and must be dispersed.
The report said upon entering the business, deputies encountered a crowd of more than 800 people. While patrols were on the scene, numerous fights were alleged to have broken out and patrons are said to have begun damaging property in the building.
Additional patrols from surrounding jurisdictions were dispatched to the bowling alley. The crowd was eventually dispersed and the business closed for the night according to the police report.
Arrested at the scene were Kalsum H. Larry, 20, of Albany, Diakite Lamine, 18 of Harlem, and Eudes B. Pierre, 21 of Brooklyn.
Larry was charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, and resisting arrest, an A level misdemeanor. Lamine was charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, resisting arrest, an A level misdemeanor, attempted grand larceny in the fourth degree, an A level misdemeanor and attempted possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a B
level misdemeanor. Pierre was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, a violation. Larry and Lamine were arraigned in Halfmoon Town Court before Justice Katherine Suchocki and remanded to the Saratoga County Jail in lieu of $500 cash bail or $1,500 secure bond. Pierre was released on an appearance ticket.
Halfmoon Town Supervisor Kevin Tollisen said he was informed of the situation early Saturday morning by Saratoga County Sheriff Mike Zurlo and the town was asked to be involved in the forthcoming investigation.
Tollisen said he was told that a D.J. had been hired for a private party of 300 at the bowling alley and the size of the crowd grew in size within a very short time frame.
On Sunday, Steffen Buck and John Cooper of the town’s Building and Code Department went to the business and issued 18 code violations. Tollisen said the men found the business had violated its planning board approval by having live entertainment, exceeded its legal occupancy limit of 553, side doors that were inoperable, and a number of electrical and sprinkler issues.
“We take this seriously. We support our businesses in Halfmoon, but when there’s a disregard of site plan approval and it puts the town at risk we will not tolerate it,” Tollisen said. “We want this business to be successful. We want them to be here for a long time and we look forward to reaching out to Spare Time Lanes and setting up a meeting.”
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department was assisted in handing the incident by the New York State Police, Waterford Police Department, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Colonie Police Department, Watervliet Police Department, Cohoes Police Department, Schenectady Police Department, Glenville Police Department, Scotia Police Department, Niskayuna Police Department, Green Island Police Department, Rotterdam Police Department and the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said the state Liquor Authority is also investigating the incident.