City firefighter charged with firing gunshot inside bar

City firefighter charged with firing gunshot inside bar

William Kaempffer , Register Staff

12/23/2003

NEW HAVEN — A city firefighter faces felony charges after he allegedly fired a gun inside a bar, authorities said on Monday.

Eric Barross, 39, a member of the department for nearly 17 years, was arrested at Cardinal’s Club & Cafe, 320 Ashmun St., after police were summoned there for a fight, police said.

According to police, the brawl happened at about 1 a.m. When officers arrived, they found Yohahnce Barross, 25, Eric Barross’ nephew, near the front door of the club, at 320 Ashmun St., suffering from facial injuries. He went to a nearby hospital for treatment.

After speaking with witnesses, officers determined that the ordeal started when one of the Barrosses allegedly got into a fight with another patron after they bumped into each other.

The situation escalated from there. Yohahnce Barross allegedly pulled out gun, sparking another fracas, police said. Customers at the bar told police that they attempted to disarm the younger Barross by hitting him repeatedly with chairs.

At some point, Eric Barross apparently gained possession of his nephew’s gun and fired at least one shot, police said. No one was hit by the gunshot.

Police said both Eric and Yohahnce Barross were arrested.

Eric Barross, of Hamden, was charged with unlawful discharge, carrying a pistol without a permit, breach of peace, first-degree reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm. He posted $25,000 bond and was released. His next court date is Jan. 16.

His nephew, also of Hamden, faces charges of unlawful discharge, breach of peace and reckless endangerment, police said. The charges indicate that Yohahnce Barross also fired shots in the incident, although police reports didn’t indicate that. The clerk’s office in Superior Court had no record of these latest charges against the 25-year-old man.

Police recovered a handgun inside the bar. Yohahnce Barross was licensed to carry, a police source said. Officers also noticed he had an empty hip holster when he was taken to the hospital.

Patrick Eagan, firefighter union president, said that Barros has been instructed to report to work as usual for his next shift.

"There’s nothing pending departmentally at this time," he said.

Assistant Fire Chief Ron Dumas was unavailable for comment on Monday.

William Kaempffer can be reached at wkaempffer@nhregister.com, or 789-5727.