Excise police want Blue Jeans Bar declared a public nuisance

MISHAWAKA — Indiana State Excise Police say they are now working with a sense of urgency and throwing all resources available into a case to get the Blue Jeans bar in St. Joseph County declared a public nuisance. The designation could ultimately mean a revocation of the bar's permit to serve alcohol. Excise police say they have cited Blue Jeans at least a half dozen times in the past four to five years. That doesn't take into account the 14 calls St. Joseph County Police have had to the bar in the past six months. One of the most recent calls to Blue Jeans occurred last week when a fight left a victim severely beaten. Then one day after the fight, police were called back out to the area near Blue Jeans on a complaint of shots being fired. But excise police have also revealed that part of their case against Blue Jeans may include what happened there on January 9. Lt. Tim Cleveland, who heads up the state's excise efforts in northwest Indiana, says police have security camera footage showing that Shawn Devine was at Blue Jeans shortly before causing the crash that claimed the lives of Mishawaka Cpl. James Szuba and his K9 partner, Ricky. "We can prove he was there and how long he was there and we're going to definitely be taking a look at that. It's already an open investigation for us," Cleveland said. Cleveland said he feels Blue Jeans may have violated the law that prohibits bars from serving customers if they suspect they've already had too much to drink. "There's a sense of urgency, absolutely, before somebody else gets killed," said Cleveland. Cleveland says Blue Jeans was cited by state excise police on a public nuisance charge in August of 2009 for possession of marijuana and ecstasy. "They were charged in 2006 for promoting professional gambling. They were charged in October of 2009 for another gambling-related violation, in 2007 another gambling violation," said Cleveland as he thumbed through a stack of yellow citation slips in his file on Blue Jeans. But the owner of Blue Jeans, James Gonsalves, disputes the charges. "Gambling? Absolutely not. Or if a patron did drugs, when people come, we search everybody for arms or drugs in their pockets or anything ," said Gonsalves. Gonsalves says he also keeps a list at the bar and if a patron is known to make trouble, that patron is kept out. Cleveland disputes that saying, "They cater to criminals." "They know who their customer base is and who frequents the establishment. They need to have a zero tolerance policy for any criminal activity on the premises or in the parking lot," Cleveland added. "We don't want an innocent citizen killed or an officer responding to a shots fired call to get killed. So, there is that sense of urgency that we get this problem taken care of," Cleveland said. Cleveland said just Monday, he fielded another complaint call about Blue Jeans. He says the callers typically ask,"What do we have to do to get this place closed?" Gonsalves expresses frustration, saying that he thinks police expect him to just be able to look at his patrons and know if they're criminals or not. "I wish I knew that magic," Gonsalves said of the situation. Gonsalves says he will also close the establishment earlier on the nights when he doesn't have any off-duty officers working security. So on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the bar will close around 10 p.m. instead of staying open until 3 a.m. However, Gonsalves says he will continue to keep the bar open until 3 a.m. on his busy nights, Fridays and Saturdays. Cleveland says the promotions at Blue Jeans that allow patrons to pay a cover and then buy penny well drinks is something that he believes is a problem, allowing them to "get drunk on a dime." Gonsalves says Blue Jeans stopped offering penny pitchers four to six weeks ago, but the penny drink offers are still in place. "If there is a correlation there with penny drinks and too much drunkenness, we'll stop that one too," Gonsalves said. Gonsalves also owns the Chicago Street Bar and Grill in Elkhart on Cassopolis Street. Lt. Ed Windbigler of the Elkhart Police Department says that in the last year his department has responded to 14 calls about fights at the bar. Elkhart police paid 65 visits to the bar in the last year on what Windbigler calls, "P.R. calls." Those are calls in which police stop by proactively at places that have had a history of trouble. "It was definitely a problem place," said Windbigler. Although, Windbigler says that recently, the situation at the Elkhart bar has quieted down considerably. Cleveland says Gonsalves brother, John, also once ran a bar in Elkhart called the Sports Locker Lounge that was near the intersection of Franklin and Nappanee. Cleveland says the alcohol permit for that bar was revoked and the bar was the site of frequent violence. Cleveland says he questions if John Gonsalves is taking an active role in running Blue Jeans and if James Gonsalves is more of an owner just on paper. James Gonsalves says his brother is part-owner of the building and that he leases the building from John. He says John runs the kitchen part of the business and helps out when he can't be there. Cleveland says one issue his agency is looking into is the potential of false ownership at Blue Jeans. James Gonsalves says he works a day job as an engineer at Dometic in Elkhart. But he says he's only been at that job for the last three months or so. "It has gotten much better. It will get much better," Gonsalves said of the situation at Blue Jeans.