PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Two nightclubs will remain closed, as the city license board calls for more information about shootings outside both establishments early Saturday.
Jovan's Lounge, in South Providence, and Snubs on North Main Street both had their licenses suspended in an emergency hearing Saturday. The board decided Monday that Jovan's will remain closed pending a hearing Wednesday. Snubs will remain closed indefinitely, as the club responds to requests for more information.
Both incidents occurred as the nightclubs were closing at 2 a.m. A gang member who'd been ejected from Jovan's was seen with a gun in a nearby parking lot. Police pursued 24-year-old Duvall Carty, who turned and shot at Sgt. Curt Desautels, who returned fire and struck him. Carty is in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital and will face multiple felony charges.
Police seized Carty's .25-caliber gun, and a .45 caliber gun that another gang member, Michael Williams, 21, of the Comstock street gang, was found carrying in the same area.
The shooting drew a large crowd on Broad Street, big enough that all police officers in the city were called in to handle the situation, Maj. Thomas Verdi testified Monday.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Snubs was closing when someone opened fire on two men in the club's parking lot, about 40 feet from the door. Ailton Barros, 26, of North Providence, is at Rhode Island Hospital, "fighting for his life," according to the police. Emanuel Moreira, 27, of Pawtucket, was also injured, but uncooperative with police.
Both criminal investigations are still ongoing. The city solicitor had subpoenaed witnesses and sought video from the clubs.
A few supporters of Jovan's stood at the back of the hearing room. The 23-year-old nightclub is an establishment in South Providence, and also hosts charity events and parties.
Patrolman Robert Kells, who was working a detail at Jovan's, testified that officers been warned at roll call that a gang member was having a birthday party at the club. That night, Kells said, the event's promoter, Medina Costa, told him that there were "different factions, different groups" all having events at the same time.
It was not a good mix, Kells said, and some of the bouncers also warned him that there were problems.
Jovan's lawyer, Thomas Hanley, said if owner Beatrice Gomes had known about the gang members attending the event Friday night, she would have canceled. Someone should have told her, he said.
Major Thomas Verdi said later that it was the owners' responsibility. "Having an event that attracted a lawless, criminal crowd -- and that's what it was," Verdi said.
The lawyer for Snubs said there was no evidence that the shootings stemmed from the nightclub, and he disputed the police's assertion that there had been a fight inside the club beforehand. He said Snubs was cooperating police and showed investigators the video that may have captured the gunman and his vehicle arriving at the parking lot.
No one has been arrested in that case.
Chairman Andrew Annaldo said the board needed more information before it could decide on the licenses. "What's clear to me is people were shot, and public safety is at risk," he said.