Spanky's East

The parking lot at Spanky's East Gentlemen's Club, 1700 Butler St., was the sight of a shooting early Saturday morning.

(lehighvalleylive | SARAH M. WOJCIK)

It's been more than a year since there's been the sound of gunfire outside of Spanky's East.

The June 2013 incident when upwards of 17 gunshots rang out during a dispute outside of the Wilson Borough gentlemen's club sparked a discussion that Mayor David Perusso said will likely be coming around again: Is the Butler Street bar a problem?

"We've had that many times, that conversation," Perusso said Saturday after reports surfaced of a shooting there at 2:15 a.m. "I'm sure it'll come up again."

A 23-year-old Easton woman was shot in the foot early Saturday morning in the bar's parking lot, according to police. Wilson Borough police Chief Steven Parkansky said the woman told officers she was sitting in her car when she heard the gunfire and was injured.

Police learned about her involvement after a call from a local hospital, Parkansky said. Police were already on scene for reports of a shots fired at the club. Three large caliber casings were recovered in the lot, the chief said.

The woman is expected to recover, but Parkansky said police appear to have an uphill climb ahead of them since they've received "conflicting information" around the incident.

'They really don't bother us'

Elaine Heffner, 68, who lives just across Butler Street, was lying in bed when she heard three unmistakable shots after a bit of "hootin' and hollerin'."

"I heard a lot of carrying on and arguing," she said. "Then I heard three shots. Pop, pop, pop. I wouldn't look outside. I didn't want to get shot."

Heffner's husband Harold, 79, was fast asleep during the shooting, he said. Generally, the owners of the bar over the years haven't really been troublesome, said the Heffners. They've even allowed them to park in the lot during large family parties over the years.

"Their problems are mostly outside," said Harold Heffner. "Other than that, they don't really bother us. They do seem to control what's inside. But how can you control the people in your parking lot?"

Road to nuisance bar label a difficult one, DA says

That's part of any nuisance bar issue, too, said Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. Declaring an establishment a nuisance bar is a complicated process involving the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, he said. A bar needs to have a long record of police visits and neighborhood complaints to qualify as such, Morganelli said.

"It's very difficult to do. We've shut down about a dozen in the time I've been the district attorney," said Morganelli, who was elected to the office in 1991. "You need a long history of incidents both inside and outside the place. Here we have a lot of stuff outside and it's difficult when it's only outside."

Neighbor James Yohn also slept through the commotion Saturday morning. Arriving home from his tractor trailer route by 8 p.m., he said he was well into "la la land" by 2 in the morning. Still, Yohn said, the bar isn't as bad a neighbor as one might expect.

"They stay over there. Their trouble stays over there," Yohn said, waving away a question about whether Spanky's East concerns him. "It doesn't spill over."

While the mayor said borough police patrol that area heavily, Parkansky noted the strip club isn't a frequent stop for law enforcement.

"Honestly, we just don't get a lot of calls there," the chief said. "When do have an incident, unfortunately, it does tend to be serious."

Before the 2013 gunfire, Jason Oliver was gunned down outside the establishment -- then called C.R. Fannys Gentlemen's Club -- and Jacob Holmes Jr. was injured. John Francis "Rue" Logan Jr. is serving time as the gunman in that crime while his co-defendant Miguel Aponte was shot to death inside the Easton Cafe in March 2009.

Parkansky said the owners of the establishment have been, over the years, cooperative with police when necessary. Multiple messages for the club's current owner were not returned by Saturday afternoon.

The state liquor control board, Parkansky said, will be notified about the shooting.

Perusso said the establishment, which has gone through several iterations as a bar and strip club, does concern some neighbors.

"Years ago they got in there and there's nothing we can do about it now," the mayor said. "We haven't had any complaints lately, but I'm sure they'll be coming in now. We'll see where it goes from there."