Oddballs bar closes on Pittsburgh’s South Side after weekend brawl outside
A nuisance bar in the city’s South Side has voluntarily closed following calls for it to shut down, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. announced Wednesday.
Oddballs closed Wednesday after a fight occurred there over the weekend that left a police sergeant with a gruesome leg injury.
“We have an agreement that Oddballs is closed, and their license will now be put in a position where they can transfer it,” Zappala told TribLive news partner WTAE.
The bar in the 1500 block of East Carson Street became the scene of a melee early Saturday morning.
Police arrested Jonathan Morin, 23, of Carrick and charged him with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Pittsburgh police Sgt. Andrew Robinson, who leads the South Side entertainment patrol, told TribLive that he broke several bones in his leg and foot during the scuffle.
“Thankfully, we have a level of cooperation to hold business owners accountable,” Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto said Thursday.
Officials like Pittsburgh Councilmen Bob Charland, D-South Side, and Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, called for the bar to be shut down due to nuisance issues.
“We’ll be working to make sure this bar cannot operate on the South Side anymore, because they cannot make this establishment safe,” Charland said Tuesday.
Zappala told WTAE that Oddballs was the subject of 11 police reports since May.
The district attorney plans to meet with South Side business owners later this week.
Morin was taken early Saturday to the Allegheny County Jail, but was released the next day after posting $1,000 bond.
Scirotto called the bail level set by a district judge “very problematic.”
“I will challenge the judicial system … if it challenges the safety of my officers,” Scirotto said. Those officers “should never be treated as disposable.”
Morin’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18. He did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Morin’s attorney was not listed in court records.
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