Connecticut bar owners charged with violating COVID-19 orders

DANBURY — Five local cafe owners were charged with violating public health emergency orders after allegedly ignoring prior warnings from police.

“While the Danbury Police Department is not actively seeking out violations of the governor’s COVID-19related

restrictions, one of our greatest functions is public safety and maintaining the peace,” Detective Lt. Mark Williams said.

However, he said, “after receiving specific citizen complaints or discovering blatant violations while responding to calls for service, we will take enforcement action.”

“Enforcement action in this regard generally begins with formal warnings and can escalate to an arrest when faced with repeated disregard of COVID-19 restrictions,” Williams said.

Genia Alvarez-Rodriguez, 45, and Manuel Honorato Andrade, 44 — owners of La Canchita Restaurant & Bar

on Delay Street — were arrested around 1 a.m. July 4, for allegedly violating a public health safety order.

Williams said La Canchita “had multiple violations,” and the two owners were arrested after receiving one prior warning.

Segundo Velasquez, owner of the Red House Bar & Cafe on Keeler Street, and Juan Carlos Villa, owner of Fajitas and Margaritas on Main Street were arrested July 4, for having “multiple violations” at their establishments, Williams said.

Velasquez, 47, received one warning prior to arrest, while 35-year-old Villa had been warned two times — on June 20 and June 28 — according to police.

The fifth person charged with violating a public health emergency order that weekend was Erika Fajardo-Sumba, owner of La Costeñita Bar & Restaurant on Ives Street.

Not only was the establishment

cited for “multiple violations,” police said, but the 34-year-old owner was arrested on the same charge both July 4 and July 5.

The July 4 arrests occurred when officers went downtown to “make sure bars and restaurants were in compliance” with Executive Order No. 7MM, according to police reports.

Among the violations observed by police included employees not wearing face masks while walking around, tables that weren’t six feet apart, food not being served and patrons ordering drinks at bar areas that had no partitions.

Fajardo-Sumba’s second arrest, on July 5, occurred after officers responded to a report of a fight at La Costeñita at 1:13 a.m. July 5, and found the same violations observed the night before, according to a police report.

A public health emergency order violation comes with a penalty of up to $1,000 in fines, one year of imprisonment, or both for each offense, according to state law.

All five cafe owners

were released on promises to appear in court July 16. Their arraignments were later postponed to Aug. 27, according to court records.

The restaurant owners did not return request for comment.

Enforcement

Since Lamont started issuing executive orders to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Danbury Police Department’s enforcement approach of first asking for compliance and issuing warnings has not changed.

“Our process is to first visit and have a conversation with the manager and/or owner and give an informal warning,” Mayor Mark Boughton said.

“Sometimes people say, ‘OK, no problem,’ some don’t know what the regulations are, and some people just don’t want to (comply),” he said.

Without naming any specific bars or owners, Boughton said during the City Council’s July 7 meeting that the recently charged bar owners had been previously warned but refused to comply.

“Unfortunately, when it gets that serious, you have to escalate the enforcement,” he told City Council members.

The city’s Health and Human Services Department has been inspecting outdoor dining patios, hair and nail salons, body care facilities, and indoor dining at food service establishments since they were allowed to reopen, said Kara Prunty, acting director of the department.

She said the department has worked with businesses to correct any issues with compliance.

“We’ve been trying to take an educational approach,” Prunty told the City Council. “We go back, we try and show and teach what we should be doing, and then we follow up with periodic inspections to go along and make sure they’re following what they should be doing.”

Boughton said that should be the first step before an arrest.

“The first line of defense is always to work with the business owner,” he said. “Educate them if they don’t know and give them a warning.”