PUBLIC SAFETY

Exclusive: Behind the scenes of IMPD's 'after hours' clubs sweep

Jill Disis
jill.disis@indystar.com
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police closed one Northside "after hours" club and shut down a party at another one early Sunday morning, June 15, 2014.

By the time the police sergeant pulled up to the large warehouse on North Hovey Street around 4 a.m. Sunday, he already knew his opportunity was gone.

The building, which looks out of place in this otherwise residential Near-Northside neighborhood, had been teeming with people last weekend. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers had found hundreds of people gambling illegally, smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol, even though the warehouse doesn't have a liquor license.

In fact, police had been keeping an eye on the place for a while.

In April, officers were called to the building on reports of gunshots. Earlier this month, two women told police someone hit them with brass knuckles and stole their purses.

Last week, a 28-year-old woman was shot and critically injured there.

Those activities had led Sgt. Bill Carter, who works with IMPD's Nuisance and Abatement unit, to file an order to have the building in the 3400 block of North Hovey Street — called the After Party — closed.

Maybe last week's shooting scared patrons off, Carter speculated. Maybe they somehow found out about IMPD's plans.

As Carter taped his shut-down notice to the building's front door, only a few people remained scattered outside.

As luck would have it, the stragglers outside the After Party were all Carter needed to salvage the otherwise disappointing situation.

Thanks to information they provided, what could have been a failed raid turned into a double raid, as a team of IMPD officers swept two Northside "after hours" clubs early Sunday.

IMPD officer Steve Elliot and Sgt. Bill Carter look over the illegal gaming tables at 3469 N. College.

Raids 2 miles apart

Officers closed down the Hovey Street location and busted a second party two miles away at a breakfast joint that officers say played host to a slew of illegal activities, including alcohol consumption, gambling and exotic dancing.

Carter said the stragglers outside the After Party told him the party planned for Hovey Street had moved to Big Fella's Restaurant at Fairfield and North College avenues.

"It was nice of them to direct us to this establishment," Carter said. "So that's how we knew it was here."

Sunday morning's crackdowns came amid a number of recent violent incidents at local illegal gambling venues, including last week's shooting at the After Party. The same day, a man was killed and another man was shot at another location where police suspect they were involved in illegal gambling.

FATAL SHOOTING:IMPD identifies men involved

GAMBLING WOES:Casinos down on their luck

"The gambling's not going to be sanctioned, so they don't have to follow any rules," Carter said. "We've had two shootings, one at a dice house and then the other one at Hovey on Monday morning. So that's our concern, is that the violence is easily associated with some of the illegal-type activities."

Officers entered Big Fella's about 4:30 a.m. Sunday and climbed a set of stairs to reach the main party room, which was packed with patrons holding plastic cups filled with alcohol. At the back of the room was a large bar cluttered with bottles of upper-shelf alcohol, including Grey Goose vodka, Crown Royal whiskey and Jose Cuervo tequila.

Police confiscated more than $300 from a register behind the bar at Big Fella's. In several back rooms, officials found gambling tables and entertainment rooms with stripper poles installed. The business, Carter said, isn't licensed to host any of those activities.

"There were several women who had very little clothing on that were performing in the middle of the floor," Carter said. "As soon as we walked in, everybody kind of ran out."

Dozens of partygoers rushed past Indianapolis Star reporters in search of exits. One man lingered, posing for a Star photographer: "Hey, I'm free!" he yelled. "I ain't got no warrant, no nothing."

The two-story Big Fella's restaurant has been in and out of business since 1974, according to an Indianapolis Recorder article posted on a wall inside the restaurant. Carter said the owners tried to obtain a liquor license for Big Fella's earlier this spring but backed off their application after neighbors became concerned.

No arrests made

Phone calls to the owner, Dalene McFadden, were not returned Sunday. No arrests were made at either the After Party or Big Fella's on Sunday. Police said that's because the original SWAT team set up for the Hovey Street raid had been disbanded, and only three officers were on hand at Big Fella's. Police did not want to try to control the crowd and issue citations with so few officers on the scene.

Carter said he plans to talk to city attorneys today to petition for a temporary restraining order to close Big Fella's.

Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.