After crimes, Frogtown residents want bar closed

Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune

The Moonlight Magic bar on the corner of Western and Thomas Avenues in St. Paul. Neighbors fear for the children who attend school across the street from the bar.

Neighbors unhappy with violence and noise at Moonlight Magic question why it's still open across the street from a school.

By KEVIN GILES, Star Tribune

Last update: May 12, 2009 - 12:54 AM

Rosie Gitson, manicuring bushes on Monday outside her home in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, said she's fed up with the noise and fights across the street at Moonlight Magic, a bar where a young man died early Sunday.

"They've got us scared to death," said Gitson, one of several neighbors who would like to see the bar closed. "I'm afraid to come outside sometimes. It's real bad."

Police said that Tai Yang, 20, died in a savage beating during a melee outside the club. Late Monday afternoon, one person remained in critical condition at Regions Hospital with a gunshot wound, another gunshot victim had been treated and released, and nine people were in jail.

Charges could be filed today and more arrests could be forthcoming, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, police spokesman.

Investigators think the melee resulted from disputes between Asian gangs, Schnell said. He said that Yang, of St. Paul, was known to police. Public records show that Yang was sentenced to St. Cloud prison in 2006 for a drive-by shooting and committing a felony for the benefit of a gang. He also had been booked in Ramsey County on other firearms charges and for giving false information to police.

Frogtown is an "immigrant gateway" to St. Paul with races mixed together block to block, but seems largely free of gang activity, said Tait Danielson Castillo, executive director of the Neighborhood Planning Council.

"Frogtown crime-wise has gotten a lot better over the years," he said. "People always give it a bad rap because it has such a different name."

Only recently, Castillo said, has he heard complaints about the bar, which is across the street from Jackson Magnet Elementary School. He has called a neighborhood meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday to discuss safety concerns at the District 7 Planning Council office at 533 N. Dale St.

"I think the neighborhood would prefer not having a bar there but the bar came before the school," he said.

May Vang, who owns W and T Market on the corner across Western Avenue N. from the bar, said the disturbance woke her about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. "I looked through the window and I see a whole bunch of guys kicking this man," she said. "He was on the ground. I've never seen somebody beat up so bad."

Police arrived minutes later. Schnell said Yang died of head injuries.

On Monday, the only evidence that remained were orange numbers painted where police found bullet casings and other items on the sidewalk and street. Schoolchildren wearing backpacks tromped over the markings on their way home.

"The bar is no good for the neighborhood," said George Blanchard, another neighbor. "It should be shut down permanently."

Several families with young children live within a block of the bar, he said, and he's witnessed gunfire before. He said he can't believe that the bar is allowed to keep its license with the busy elementary school straight across Thomas Street.

"They keep shooting, one of these innocent people is going to get shot in their house," he said.

Police have been summoned to the bar 402 times since January 2000, Schnell said. Those "calls for service" also included officer walk-throughs and 911 hangups. Schnell said he didn't consider the number unusually high.

In 2003, Jon Loretz, an off-duty police officer, was accused of striking several people during a brawl at the bar, then known as Lucy's. Loretz, son of then-Police Chief William Finney, wasn't charged with a crime. In 2004, a customer was shot dead when he walked into an argument between two groups of people outside the bar.

The bar dates to the 1800s when it opened as a neighborhood tavern and dance hall. It operated under various names including the Blues Saloon and Wilebski's, and featured such notable musicians as John Lee Hooker, Etta James and Willie Dixon. It reopened as the Moonlight in 2004 when seven brothers wanted to provide live Asian music.

On Monday, the bar was closed. Owner Moua Yang couldn't be reached to comment.

May Vang, helping customers in her store within sight of the shooting scene, said the weekend brawl is the talk of the neighborhood and that people are afraid for their children.

"Summertime is always crazy, you know," she said.

Kevin Giles • 612-673-4432

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