Coakley's Fined $1K After Fourth Of July Melee

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Coakley's Pub will pay $1,000 in fines for what the owner called a "girl fight." The business was exonerated from several other charges, including one that could have resulted in revocation of its liquor license.

At its most recent meeting, the Harford County Liquor Control Board heard cases dating from 2017 to 2019 involving Margie Coakley and her businesses, Coakley's and the Cornerstone.

Here were the outcomes of the show-cause hearings:

• Coakley's Pub was fined $500 for disturbing the peace and $500 for allowing a person who was visibly intoxicated to be on the premises July 5. A fight that night resulted in multiple arrests. One person went to the hospital.
• Coakley's Pub was found not guilty of disturbing the peace after a domestic disturbance inside the pub Oct. 21, 2018.
• Coakley was found not guilty of making a false statement to the liquor board about the Cornerstone on Nov. 15, 2017. Had she been found guilty, her liquor license would have been revoked.

Board: 'A Significant Amount Of Time Has Passed'

Before the Coakley's hearings and those involving two other businesses (The Olive Tree and Wetlands Golf Course in Aberdeen), the liquor board issued a formal statement about its lack of timeliness in reviewing cases.

"This year the board, counsel and staff realized that a significant amount of time has passed from when the violations that are being heard today occurred," Board Chair Sheryl Davis Kohl said before the Aug. 14 hearings.

"Due to some unforeseen internal issues within the office, this has created the delay, and the Harford County Liquor Control Board is working to keep this from being a recurring issue. Steps have been taken to correct the problems, and the hearings will be scheduled in a more timely manner," Kohl said.

The liquor board parted ways with its previous attorney/administrator in June. No reason was provided for the split, since it was a personnel issue. The timing of the departure came on the heels of a flap over drag shows.

"Harford County Liquor Control Board office is committed to treating every licensee fairly and processing the violations in a timely manner," Kohl said.

SEE ALSO: Harford Liquor Board Responds To Allegations Of Discrimination

After the board's hearings last week, which began at 3 and concluded after 7 p.m. Wednesday, Patch asked whether there was a statute of limitations on liquor violations.

Staff could not find one within the liquor code, counsel Amy Finneran said.

'Girl Fight' On July 5: 'There Was Hair Everywhere'

While some of the Coakley's cases heard last week dated back to 2017, the most recent charge — and the only one in which the board found the Havre de Grace business in violation of the liquor code — was from the Fourth of July night.

Officers were dispatched to the bar on Saint John Street because of a "crowd in front of the establishment that wouldn't leave the area," Pfc. Chad Smith of the Havre de Grace Police Department said.

The call about the crowd at 408 Saint John Street came in at 12:28 a.m., and police arrived two minutes later at 12:30 a.m. Friday, July 5, according to Smith.

When officers arrived, they saw 15 to 20 people in front of the establishment, he said, indicative of closing time. After speaking with people outside, Smith said he saw through the window "people going towards each other," and when he opened the door to the bar, there was "a full-out fight."

Liquor Board Vice Chair Butch Tilley asked how many people were involved in the melee.

"The girls were throwing fists and grabbing hair, and there was hair everywhere," Smith said. "It was hard to tell."

There were three primary aggressors, he said, and a handful of others either participated or tried to break up the fight, maybe five or eight people.

As a result of the altercation, three women and one man were arrested:

• A 33-year-old woman from the 700 block of Hoppers Lane in Havre de Grace was charged with second-degree assault; being intoxicated and causing a public disturbance; disorderly conduct; and disturbing the peace. She was taken to a hospital from the holding cell, Smith said.
• Two sisters (ages 21 and 23) and their father (age 44) were issued criminal citations for disorderly conduct. All lived in the 500 block of Lighthouse Court and were released from the police station after being cited, police said.

When the officer stepped into Coakley's, he said the 23-year-old was throwing punches.

As he tried to move her out of the group, her father held onto her. Since it was unclear whether the man was trying to hinder the arrest or pull her out of the melee, another officer took the dad to the ground.

The arrests were made by 12:35 a.m., and officers had taken everyone to the police station by 12:50 a.m., Smith said.

When police asked, the 33-year-old "couldn't even remember why they were arguing," Smith said. She had slight swelling of her right eye and was later taken to the hospital for treatment of her injury, he reported.

"The girls thought it was kind of funny that they were in this fight and being arrested," Smith said of the two sisters, who also could not provide information about why they were in the dispute in the first place.

Officers learned a fight occurred before they arrived, in addition to the one that broke out while officers were there. "Words had been exchanged" earlier in the night at the outside patio bar between the family and the 33-year-old woman, who had been with her husband, Smith said. The situation escalated inside, where a witness told police the older woman grabbed the 23-year-old by the throat, others got involved, and a fight ensued.

At the liquor board hearing, Smith was asked how he could tell the parties involved were intoxicated. He said the 33-year-old was stumbling, she came back to the bar to get into a fight and she was "reeking of alcohol." Added Smith: "She was not even on site when I first got there."

Staff was familiar with the 33-year-old woman, who tends bar in Aberdeen, Coakley said, and they had "never had a problem with her," adding she knows the business.

Coakley said she didn't know the sisters and their dad. They were at the bar in Havre de Grace for a total of 45 minutes, according to the restaurant's records.

"I would assume they were having fun in Bel Air, come to our bar intoxicated, mess with one of our regulars — I don't know what happened," Coakley said. "We don't know what started the fight, and we still don't know."

Said Coakley: "This is a girl fight."

The police officer said the family's mannerisms indicated they were intoxicated, and father was very agitated. Other patrons at the bar were intoxicated, he added, evidenced by stumbling and comments made as they left.

The board's attorney said she was concerned about the "level of intoxication" that was reported, referencing the bar's responsibility under the liquor code not to allow a person visibly intoxicated to be on the premises.

"According to their [Coakley's] record, at least one of these individuals was only there 45 minutes," Finneran said. "Whether they were served there or not, but to get to the level of intoxication that the officer observed, what the state they must have been in prior to arriving and the 45 minutes they were there is a little bit concerning."

Regarding the charge of disturbing the peace, a point that came up repeatedly was the lack of security at the bar on July 5.

Usually, Coakley's has security on duty every Friday and Saturday, the owner said. This particular evening was a Thursday. Had security been on duty, police said it could have helped maintain order.

Lack of security led to "a dangerous situation" that imperiled both patrons and local residents, Liquor Inspector William R. Knoerlein said, since the crowd spilled outside.

"We decided not to have security because of low sales," Coakley said.

To determine how to staff the night of the Fourth of July, she said she looked at her books from 2018 and saw the bar did only $400 in sales from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., which she said was "super slow." The 2018 holiday fell on a Wednesday.

"The actual Fourth of July is very dead," Coakley explained, since the Havre de Grace Independence Day festivities were not until Saturday, July 6."It's very quiet in Havre de Grace because everyone is in Bel Air."

This year the bar brought in $875 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. (the time her employees closed since the disturbance unfolded) on July 4, she said, so it was "not very busy but it's a little bit busier" than 2018. She attributed the variation to the day, since this year many people had Friday off.

After the disturbance, Coakley said she initiated a meeting with Havre de Grace police chief and two captains, as well as the mayor. Going forward, Coakley said that she planned to have security on holidays, especially since the Fourth of July would be on the weekend in 2020. It will be on a Saturday.

"Now we'll definitely know what to expect on a holiday like the Fourth of July," Coakley said. She said she always has security on St. Patrick's Day and the day before Thanksgiving.

The board found Coakley's Pub guilty of disturbing the peace and permitting intoxicated individuals on the premises. Each violation carried a $500 fine.

"It's very difficult to find guilt in situations like this," Liquor Board Commissioner James Welch said after the verdict. "It seems like bad guys should be the ones being punished."

Court records show the 33-year-old woman charged with assault and public intoxication, as well as other offenses, in the incident is scheduled to appear in Harford County District Court Sept. 11. The two sisters and their father are slated to appear Sept. 3 for disorderly conduct.

Domestic Incident On Oct. 21, 2018: Not Guilty Of Disturbing Peace

Coakley's was also the site of a disturbance in October 2018. Security was not present then either.

As the result of a report he received from the Havre de Grace Police Department, Liquor Inspector William Colburn charged Coakley's with disturbing the peace on Oct. 21.

Pfc. Bryan Adams said that an anonymous woman had called and said "a fight was about to start" at 1:13 a.m. on Oct. 21, which was a Sunday.

When police arrived, they saw 10 people actively "pushing," according to Adams, who testified at the Aug. 14 hearing.

Nobody was charged, and no suspect was located, Adams said.

"One of her employees was having a domestic situation with a man," Coakley's attorney Eric McLaughlin said. The man was the fiancé of an employee not on duty. "It occurred inside among people that were largely involved in it themselves," he said of the fight, noting 10 people were in the bar at the time.

"Is Coakley's disturbing the peace?" Coakley said. "No, this individual — who was not arrested and not hurt — disturbed the peace."

Security had been dismissed by the time of the incident because "we were very slow that night," Coakley said. Her bar is in a "business district," she said, and she owns five apartments around the bar, all of which are rented to her employees. "We did not disturb their peace," she said.

The board agreed, ruling that Coakley's was not guilty of disturbing the peace.

When the board inquired about her security schedule, Coakley said: "It depends on day of the week and what history shows and what's going on. But normally 9 p.m. until about 1 a.m." Last call is usually 12:45 or 1 a.m., she said.

"But security is really expensive, and if it is really slow, we cut security," Coakley said.

False Statement Charge: Not Guilty

Inspector Colburn also made an allegation against Coakley that could have resulted in revocation of her liquor license. He charged her with making a false statement to the liquor board about the Cornerstone, her store on Union Avenue.

Coakley was granted permission to sell alcohol there after "assurances were made to the board" and "the board was led to believe" that the Cornerstone would be used as a "convenience store that also conducted off-sale" transactions, Colburn said.

He quoted statements that Coakley made to the board on Nov. 15, 2017, at a hearing before he was employed by the agency.

• Coakley's Cornerstone Approved By Liquor Board
• Coakley's Cornerstone Now Open In Havre de Grace

In reality, he said Coakley was operating the business as a liquor store. He came to this conclusion after three visits to the Cornerstone — on Oct. 11 and 12, 2018, and April 5.

On Oct. 11, 2018, the inspector said he visited the Cornerstone and found it was filled with mostly alcoholic beverages plus assorted chips and coolers.

On Oct. 12, 2018, he said he returned at 9:45 p.m. to conduct an "official unanounced premises inspection," and Coakley escorted him through the building.

"I stated that I was surprised the building was not being used as a convenience store," he said.

"Coakley said that she knew it was never going to be a convenience store," according to Colburn.

When he again visited the establishment April 5, he said it still mostly contained alcohol. Coupled with the October 2018 visits, he said this verified his suspicion that Coakley gave false statements to the board.

"Specific items that she said would be on display were not observed," Colburn said, mentioning that Coakley testified in 2017 that she planned to sell bait and shirts that said "I Love Havre de Grace" as well as other tourist tchotchkes.

"It's a very nice liquor store. It seems to have been a big investment. But it's a liquor store," he said. The store's signage advertised wine and spirits, he added.

"Visions change," McLaughlin, Coakley's lawyer, said. If he started a restaurant and planned to sell haggis but found it was not marketable, he said he would change his strategy.

"Having something in mind doesn't mean it's certain," he said of Coakley's vision. The comments she made in 2017 about what she planned to sell at the store were "not assurances," he said, calling them instead "aspirations."

This was not a sudden problem but had been an ongoing discussion, he added.

"You may not be aware that over time I had several conversations" with the former liquor board administrator/attorney, McLaughlin said, "about what the status of the Cornerstone was." Tilley said the board was unaware, and McLaughlin said he learned that now he must put something in writing after conversations.

Regardless, he said the board did not require that the Cornerstone operate as a convenience store. At the 2017 hearing, the liquor board granted Coakley the ability to use her privilege of selling liquor off-site at the new building. Nowhere did it say that she had to operate a convenience store.

"This is not an accusation that is to be made lightly," McLaughlin said, of the allegation made by the inspector that Coakley made a false statement. "It is significant. The penalty is severe." He said that the code "calls it perjury."

The board's attorney concurred, mentioning the severity and stating that there was never any requirement that the Cornerstone operate as a convenience store.

The Cornerstone "complied with what the statute requires," Finneran said, of Coakley's license to sell liquor off-site.

While there were some "variations" about what was envisioned and what ended up in the store, Finneran said: "I don't know that that necessarily puts her in violation of the statute."

A guilty finding "does require revocation of the license," Finneran said prior to the vote.

The board unanimously found Coakley not guilty.

Last Violation At Coakley's Was In 2015

By the end of the hearing, Coakley's was found guilty on two counts: disturbing the peace and allowing an intoxicated individual on the premises on July 5.

These came a little more than four years after the pub's last violation.

Coakley's was previously cited for violations on June 5, 2015, in which the business racked up $4,000 in fines, according to Liquor Board Special Projects Coordinator Judith Powell.

The business had to pay the following in that case, Powell reported:

• $2,000 for consumption outside the licensed premises
• $1,500 for loitering outside the licensed premises
• $500 for failure to cooperate

That summer, Coakley's entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Havre de Grace Police Department outlining its cooperation with police.

Since the most recent incidents, Coakley's has installed a new security system that has 25 cameras throughout the bar, the owner reported.

Staff can email footage to the police department, using a system that Coakley said was "state of the art."

Between the October disturbance and the Fourth of July, Coakley said the pub had served 150,000 people, so she said the chance of someone getting in a fight was miniscule.

Said Coakley, who founded the restaurant in 1997: "I can count on two hands how many fights have occurred in 23 years."