The disturbance happened on Sunday, Feb. 12, when police responded to the Empire Hookah Lounge located at 397 Broad St. around 3 a.m. for a reported fight, according to Manchester Police.
Before arriving at the lounge, police were told that multiple people involved in the fight had entered a vehicle and fled the scene while one of the occupants displayed a gun. The first officer to arrive in the area then quickly found this vehicle and pulled it over.
Following the traffic stop, police arrested Meriden residents Richard Ortiz, age 23, and Wesley Vazquez-Santana, age 31. A third suspect, 22-year-old Desmond Davis, was found to have two active arrest warrants for his arrest and was turned over to the Newington Police Department on these warrants.
Both Ortiz and Vazquez-Santana were found to be in illegal possession of a firearm, which were both seized by police.
Ortiz, who appeared in court on Monday, Feb. 13, was charged with the following:
- Second-degree breach of peace;
- Second-degree reckless endangerment;
- First-degree threatening;
- Criminal possession of a firearm;
- Illegal possession of a high-capacity magazine.
Vazquez-Santana, who also appeared in court on Monday, was charged with:
- Second-degree breach of peace;
- Criminal possession of a firearm;
- Illegal possession of a high-capacity magazine;
- Possession of a controlled substance.
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