Main Street Bar loses license after string of incidents

A Cape Girardeau bar will lose its state liquor license because of a September incident where a Tamms, Ill., man was shot by a police officer.

The Main Street Bar, 701 N. Main St., will close by Dec. 12 unless owner Rick Werner files an appeal or sells the drinking establishment to a new owner who can pass state scrutiny, said Peter Lobdell, state supervisor of the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

The incident Sept. 27, in which Cape Girardeau police officer Joseph "Joey" Hann shot Jordan T. Modicue, 20, of Tamms, Ill., was just the latest of a series of incidents that forced the revocation, Lobdell said. In that incident, Modicue was pointing a black gun at the head of another man when he was ordered to drop the weapon. He turned, did not drop the gun and Hann fired, believing Modicue intended to fire at officers.

Hann's actions were found to be "reasonable and lawful," Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle wrote in a letter in which he explained his decision not to charge Hann. Modicue was not charged.

"There is just too much violence at the place and the owner isn't supervising the operation of the place to the degree it should be supervised," Lobdell said.

The shooting incident isn't the first time trouble at the Main Street Bar resulted in action against the bar's liquor license. From February to May, the bar was closed for 20 days because of two suspensions for activities there in 2007.

The bar served a five-day suspension for allowing consumption of alcohol past the 1:30 a.m. closing time. The bar was hit with a 15-day suspension for a Sept. 7, 2007, incident when police were called to a quarrel between two women that resulted in one woman being hit in the face with a beer bottle. A half-hour later, police returned on reports that shots had been fired.

An officer arrived to find numerous people engaged in a brawl, police told the Southeast Missourian at the time, and officers had to push their way through crowds fleeing the bar.

"We have to protect the public safety," Lobdell said. "We've consulted with the police about this issue."

Werner has 30 days to appeal the revocation. Lobdell wasn't sure when that period would end because he said the 30-day window begins on the day that Werner received notice the license was being revoked.

Arguments that Modicue was shot outside the bar and therefore the bar owner is not responsible won't overturn the division's decision, Lobdell said.

"The person who was shot was underage and he had been inside drinking alcohol," Lobdell said.

Even if Modicue was told to leave by employees, the fact that he was able to gain entrance and consume a drink shows a lack of control over the premises, Lobdell said. "The question is why are they attracting that kind of clientele?"

If the revocation stands, Werner would lose the license to operate Independence Place, 5 S. Henderson Ave., which he also owns, Lobdell said. That bar features drag shows and caters to the gay community in Cape Girardeau.

Werner did not return a message left at Independence Place seeking comment.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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