Police on Dean and Vand [George Martin murder]

Subject: Re: Police on Dean and Vand

greg wrote: [quote=Idlewild]Does anyone have the scoop about what happened on Dean and Vanderbilt around 1-1:30 this afternoon? A ton of cop cars and yellow tape.

I was driving by about 1:30 and saw all of the yellow tape and cop cars.

I called Doris at the Community Board and she said she heard there was a shooting. No more details. Also left a message with Det. Ratton at the 77. His assistant said he was out, possibly at the site.


Wow I hope not - that's a little too close to my son's school.

From what I'm hearing, there definitely was a shooting. It took place in the bar on the corner of Vanderbilt and Dean (the one with the frosted glass and blue lights). Rumor has it that the landlord, who's been giving the bar owner some major and borderline insane problems since he opened, flipped out and shot three people in the bar around 1 pm.
I head that the landlord, who used to be a cop, possibly came into the bar in a police uniform and opened fire. One person was killed, and another was shot while running out of the bar. Luckily, a firetruck was driving by when the injured person fell out of the restaurant. They thought the man had had a heartattack, but soon realized he had been shot. Someone else was shot, but I don't know what the circumstance is. The bar owner seems to be ok and spent the day at the police station answering questions. I don't know what's going on with the landlord. Hopefully he's behind bars.

oh my god. a lot of us know the owners and bartenders there. I'm very concerned - please keep us updated. oh my god.

Just to clarify, this is Indigo that we're talking about, and the owner is the hostile guy that lives upstairs, right?

Crap, crap, crap.

Oh no! I knew they had some very serious problems with the landord from day one. Yes, he lives right upstairs. I decided not to go into my shop today due to a cold, so I missed everything. wow, this is terrible.

This news is very upsetting - my heart goes out to the families of those shot.

Subject: Shooting at the Indigo Blue Bar

Please understand that Clement Calixte was never a police officer. He was until recently a member of the Auxiliary at the 77th Precinct.

Don't know the building owners name but he used to be an aux. at the 77. There has been alot of tension between the owner and the bar staff. Most of the problems have involved the landlord being upset about loud music at night.

Today the situation escalated when the building owner put on his aux uniform and entered the bar. A physical altercation occured by a bar employee or possibly the bar owner. During the struggle the landlord pulled a firearm from his pocket. The struggle continued as a plumber (who had been doing work in the basement) walked through the front door and was shot. The plumber is deceased. I can't confirm the condition of any other possible victims.

The fire dept called NYPD for a possible hostage situation. When police arrived the landlord and bar staff were still fighting and he was still holding the gun. Police quickly arrested the landlord who is probably by now at "da bookins".

P.S. From what I understand the aux has been arrested in the past.

NYT

November 9, 2006
Brooklyn: Man Accused of Murder
By JENNIFER 8. LEE

A 67-year-old Brooklyn man was arrested yesterday and charged with fatally shooting a man in Prospect Heights, the police said. The two men were arguing around 1 p.m. at 583 Vanderbilt Avenue when the gunman, Clement Calixte, shot the other man once in the back, the police said. The victim, whom the police did not identify, was taken to New York Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

awful as it is, it sounds like it was one wacko, who will probably not be returning to the neighborhood anytime soon.

question for the cops who are posting here: what exactly is an auxiliary? and are they permitted to carry guns? and if one has been previously arrested, as paraderest says about this guy, can he still be a member?

'Loving' activist in slay rap

Ex-auxiliary cop, 67, kills man amid rent dispute

BY KERRY BURKE, RACHEL MONAHAN and ROBERT F. MOORE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

A Bible-thumping Brooklyn community activist, clad in an auxiliary cop uniform, fatally shot his tenant's helper yesterday - putting a deadly end to a rent dispute, a police source said.
Clement Calixte, 67, a former NYPD auxiliary captain, wept openly as he was grilled by real cops about the shooting at Indigo Blue, a bar in Prospect Heights, the source said.

"My husband heard noises downstairs," said the suspect's wife, Cecile, 66. "They were destroying the place."

Calixte, who lives above the Vanderbilt Ave. business, went to check on the noise about 1 p.m. and found bar owner Alan Henry and the doomed worker, George Martin, inside.

The landlord confronted Henry and ordered him not to move anything out of the building, the source said.

Calixte had been in housing court just hours before trying to get Henry - who allegedly owed $19,000 in back rent - tossed from the building.

"He was supposed to be evicted today," the landlord's wife said. "This is what happens when you have bad tenants."

Calixte, who has a permit to carry a .38-caliber handgun, pulled out the weapon. He and Henry wrestled over the gun and it went off, striking Martin, 41, in the back, a second police source said.

Martin staggered from the bar and collapsed on the sidewalk. The father of two, who did custodial work at the bar and other businesses, died at Methodist Hospital, authorities said.

He lived around the corner from the bar.

Calixte stayed at the scene and was arrested. The former auxiliary cop in the 77th Precinct was awaiting arraignment on a murder charge last night.

"He used to always wear a police uniform," said Johnny Mercado, 36, a livery cab dispatcher. "He would say, 'Peace and love,' to everyone on the street. It's hard to believe that he'd actually shoot anyone."

Community leaders last night were also grappling with the idea that the kindhearted man known for talking about God could be accused of murder.

"He's a God-fearing, loving person who likes to help other people out," said James Caldwell, president of the 77th Precinct Community Council. "I'm totally surprised. He always likes to talk things out."

The victim's relatives said Martin was shot while helping Henry move furniture to the bar's new location at Franklin Ave. and Dean St.

"He was a good guy," said Martin's cousin, Tambra Whitfield, 41. "He was just working."

Jack Krohn wrote: "My husband heard noises downstairs," said the suspect's wife, Cecile, 66. "They were destroying the place."

Calixte had been in housing court just hours before trying to get Henry - who allegedly owed $19,000 in back rent - tossed from the building.

"He was supposed to be evicted today," the landlord's wife said. "This is what happens when you have bad tenants."

This sure makes Alan sound like the bad guy, and from what I've heard he wasn't. It's unfortunate that the news always has to pick sides.

thats crazy

so what is the real story?

was the tenant / bar owner the victim of the crazy landlord with the insane demands?

or was the landlord just trying to protect his property from a horrible tenant?

Alan is a really nice guy. My interaction with the owner of the building is limited to being yelled at/threatened by him as I stood outside the bar with a few other folks. We were talking slightly louder than an 'inside voice,' well before 11pm...

Side note, WTF does 'God fearing' mean? This has always bothered me - does this mean that, if not for the threat of divine retribution, God fearing people would be raping and pillaging?

Aux. do not carry firearms as part of their volunteer duties. My understanding is that Clement had a pistol permit. I don't think gun control is the answer. For the most part, legal guns and legal gun owners are not involved in violent crime. More gun laws will only hurt law abiding people.