Denny's altercation leads to felony charges

Johnston Sun Rise ·

An altercation at Johnston’s Denny’s restaurant, said to involve the brandishing of a gun, has left restaurant employees shaken and three suspects facing a long list of felony and misdemeanor charges.

According to police reports, on February 19 just after 5:30 a.m., Officers Mario Mennella, Andrew Broccoli, and Adam Parkinson were the first to arrive on scene and responded to the Hartford Avenue restaurant in reference to a request for a dispersal of unruly patrons.

“They came in as a party, they were actually here for about an hour an a half, I would say. They were sitting down, they started eating other people’s food, and they just started acting up,” said the person who called police, who wished to remain anonymous for safety concerns. “When they first came in I asked them how many there were, and they said “We don’t speak Spanish,” but I was speaking to them in English. They started acting up after that.”

At the scene, officers met with the complainant outside of the establishment, who advised that there were patrons inside attempting to “start a fight.” Officers could hear a commotion inside and, as they entered, all of the patrons in the immediate entryway started to disperse along with three suspects, according to the narrative.

The suspects were later identified as Felicia Pizarro, 27, of 36 Granfield Avenue, Apt L1 in Roslindale, Mass.; Jerome Hairston, 29, of 14 Woolson Street Apt. 3 in Mattapan, Mass.; and George Sturgis, 41, of 69 McKinley Circle in Magnolia, Delaware.

“While they were at the table, they didn’t want to wait at all,” said the employee. “They started grabbing food, pushing chairs, that’s when I knew something was going to happen.”

As the suspects exited and the situation began to quell, a group of females in the waiting area, described as “nicely dressed” who were in a “heightened emotional state” due to the offensive language used by the suspects, repeatedly expressed to officers that they were threatened with a gun and insisted that the trio may be in possession of a gun even though none was seen by them. The women confirmed that the suspects were using offensive, antagonistic language towards other patrons, that they had thrown chairs and were stealing food by packing other people’s orders in to-go containers and leaving with them.

“I was a little scared, scared about what was going to happen. They said they were going to “air out” the place and I really didn’t know what that meant, so that was kind of confusing to me,” said the employee. “Someone translated the slang for me and it seems to mean that they were going to shoot up this place. That’s when I decided to go in the back and called the police right away.”

Upon hearing that there may be a firearm, the officers responded back outside and walked behind Pizarro’s vehicle while it began to reverse. The vehicle stopped due to Officer Parkinson physically blocking it while repeatedly ordering Pizarro to turn the engine off. Pizarro then put the car in drive while turning the wheel hard to the right in an attempt to evade. Officer Parkinson then positioned himself alongside the car and again ordered the suspect to turn her vehicle off. She only complied after the officer opened the passenger side door, where Hairston was sitting. Officer Parkinson noted that Hairston “just continued eating food from a to-go container all while this was unfolding.”

Officers noticed an opened bottle of Hennessey Cognac at Hairston’s feet and that the vehicle had an overwhelming smell of marijuana emanating from it. All parties were then ordered from the vehicle and a Terry pat was conducted on the suspects. A leafy substance was found on Pizarro, which was tested and identified as 10.9 grams of marijuana.

“You could definitely tell they were under the influence of alcohol. They just started arguing back and forth with another table, and we were all concerned,” said the employee.

Inside the car, a loaded Smith and Wesson 9MM semi-automatic gun was found. The firearm, which was not chambered, contained a magazine that held 12 hollow point rounds and three ball rounds. The serial number on the bottom of the weapon was compromised and had been altered. All suspects denied having knowledge of the weapon or ownership.

“I saw the gun, that’s just crazy, I don’t understand,” a Denny’s employee said. “I felt our staff was in danger.”

A witness told officers that Sturgis was seen “accosting a group of females” while stating he had a gun and threatening their lives. The witness told officers that they had viewed the gun in his waistband as he was gesticulating and attempting to goad the girls into a fight.

Officers later learned that all three suspects exited the building without paying for their meal, and are alleged to have stolen prepared food from other patron’s trays and stored them in to-go containers on the way out. Because of the commotion, other customers left the scene immediately without paying out of fear, and the restaurant was left with $458 of unpaid bills during the time of the incident.

“After the event we actually lost a couple of employees. They were scared by the situation and they just walked out,” said the employee. “They were involved in the mix and one of them was in between [the suspects] and they were a little frightened. One said that [a suspect] pulled a gun from their pocket.”

According to the reports, video surveillance of the incident shows the disorderly conduct of the suspects but did not show the firearm. All three were arrested and transported to Johnston Police Headquarters, where they were advised of their rights and processed.

“The police were really good, they came in right on time. I was very satisfied with their help,” said the employee.

Pizarro was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Joseph Solomon, who set bail at $40,000 with surety for the following offenses: carrying a pistol without a license, alteration of marks of identification on a firearm, two counts of conspiracy, disorderly conduct, and obtaining food/accommodation with intent to defraud. She was issued a felony court date of May 17 and was remanded to the ACI as she could not post bail.

Hairston was also arraigned before JP Solomon for the same charges as Pizarro, along with larceny. His bail was also set at $40,000 with surety, which he was unable to post. He was transported to the ACI and has a May 17 felony court date.

Sturgis was held without bail on a fugitive complaint out of Delaware for an outstanding arrest warrant. JP Solomon set bail at $60,000 with surety by for the above charges, which he was unable to post. Along with the same charges faced by Pizarro, Sturgis was also charged with possession of a firearm by a fugitive from justice. He, too, has a May 17 court date.

“They all have felony charges pending, so I don’t think they’ll be out anytime soon,” said Deputy Chief Daniel Parrillo. “They’re in the hands of the justice system. We do what we can; it’ll go to court and the case will get presented to the judge and, hopefully, they’re found guilty on all of the charges.”