Thirty-two incidents at the New Kensington Elks Lodge over the past three years — including a fatal shooting this month — have led the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office to ask a judge to temporarily shut down the club for at least one year.
The district attorney’s office Friday filed an emergency injunction in Westmoreland County Court seeking to temporarily cease operations at the Elks lodge, at 932 Third Ave., identified in court filings as IBPOE of W — Valley Lodge 294.
Judge Chris Scherer granted the preliminary emergency injunction Friday and will hear arguments Monday, court records indicate.
Reached Friday, John Henderson, identified as the lodge’s treasurer, said the first he heard of the court filing was when he was contacted by a reporter. Attempts to reach other Elks lodge officials Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
The DA’s office wrote in the filing that, since 2022, New Kensington police and county detectives have responded to an “inordinate number of incidents” at the bar, including a homicide Dec. 6.
Authorities said Jeffrey Ballard was shot and killed by his brother, Steffon Ballard, directly outside of the Elks lodge. The shooting stemmed from an altercation that started in, or is connected to, the lodge, the filing said. Steffon Ballard is awaiting trial on homicide charges.
Other incidents reported over the past years are directly correlated to the club, the DA’s office wrote, and involve violence, handguns, fighting, drugs, loud noise and other conduct inside and outside of the bar.
The filing also said the club previously failed to adhere to conditions and regulations of the state’s Liquor Control Board.
The filing said the club violated a conditional license agreement while it awaits the results of an appeal by the Liquor Control Board, which does not want to renew the lodge’s liquor license.
“Enough is enough,” District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a statement. “The people of New Kensington do not deserve the persistent disturbances and violence that occur at this establishment. We are going to proceed in our efforts to curtail the unacceptable behavior that continues to plague this neighborhood.”
