Anaheim May Seek Liquor Ban After Rap Melee

Mayor Fred Hunter said Friday that he may seek a ban on beer and wine sales at the Celebrity Theatre in the wake of clashes among rap concert fans that left one juvenile with a gunshot wound and forced police to clear out the theater.

“This one is hard to talk about,” Police Sgt. Chet Barry said of the frenzied events Thursday night that led to the cancellation of sold-out performances by the rappers Ice Cube of Los Angeles and Too Short of Oakland.

“Basically, what we’ve got is a juvenile shot through and through, and we don’t know how or by whom,” Barry said.

Theater officials refused Friday to comment on the violence, but city leaders and downtown residents said the theater has become a magnet for unruly crowds.

“We’ve got to put a lid on this,” Councilman Irv Pickler said. “I think we have to tighten up security. I don’t like what happened, especially in the downtown area that we are trying to clean up.”

Hunter, whose law office is just across the street from the theater, was receiving calls and visits Friday morning from local residents either frightened or angered at what took place outside their homes and businesses.

“If they (theater management) cannot provide proper security, then perhaps they need to go elsewhere,” Hunter said.

The mayor said one way to bring a change would be to seek an end to beer and wine sales at the theater. Hunter said he will ask for a police review of disturbances at the downtown venue during the last three years and bring the matter to the City Council for consideration.

Hunter also questioned the theater’s booking of such performers as Ice Cube, known for his often-graphic references to gang violence.

“What needs to happen with Celebrity management is to stop booking acts that cause these kinds of problems,” Hunter said. “If the problem continues, we’ll do everything in our power to pull their (alcohol) license.”

Signs of Thursday night’s violence were still evident by midmorning Friday: Yellow police tape used for crowd control remained draped on theater handrails, trash was scattered out front and an abandoned high-heel shoe was still standing upright on a nearby retaining wall.

Meanwhile, police said they came away from an interview with the 16-year-old victim with few clues about who shot him with a handgun or what led to the violence.

The victim, identified by hospital officials as Willie Baker of Los Angeles, was reported in fair condition Friday at Long Beach Memorial Hospital with a wound to the abdomen and an exit wound out his back.

What police are relatively sure of is that the shooting--which occurred just outside the theater entrance shortly after 9 p.m.--and the violence inside the theater were unrelated.

A witness to the shooting, 19-year-old Chari Hariston of Los Angeles, said she saw “a short, dark-skinned man in a long black coat” calling out to his friends in gang jargon and threatening to shoot people as they stood waiting to enter the theater.

Hariston said another man recognized the first man and punched him in the back of the head, reportedly prompting the gunfire.

“A gun went pop, and everybody started screaming,” a shaken Hariston said Thursday night. “Everybody dived. Everybody was running.”

Inside the theater, disturbances started shortly after 9:30 p.m., when patrons began fighting in the audience. Some fans poured onto the stage apron as chairs were being thrown below the rotating circular stage during Too Short’s second number.

The show was stopped at 9:37 p.m. Police said theater officials called off the performances at 10:15 p.m.

Celebrity Theatre manager Alex Haddad said Friday that his attorney is preparing a statement about the incidents and that until it is completed he will have no comments.

John Reese, president of Phoenix-based VIP Security Services, which provided security for the event, said he believes that the problems were heightened by late-arriving crowds.

“It wasn’t so much getting the people in as that they showed up late,” he said. “Everybody showed up at once. The problem is when the gunfire went off, people rushed the doors. . . . With a situation like this where there is gunfire, people panic. According to my personnel, all the patrons panicked.”

Police were already at the scene, and within minutes of the shooting more than 30 officers had stopped traffic on surrounding streets, while a police helicopter searched overhead for the gunman.

While clearing the area, authorities arrested three men, who were held on suspicion of obstructing a police officer.

Councilman Tom Daly said Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy was asked Friday to prepare a personal report of the violence and present it for the council’s consideration.

“I want the opportunity to discuss this with the police chief and the city manager,” Daly said. “If it’s a security problem, let’s add more security. If it’s an alcohol problem, let’s remove the alcohol. No matter what we do, I’d like to deal with this problem head-on.”

Many downtown area residents and business people were angry Friday morning.

Margie Hilgenfeld-Field, who operates a mortuary across the street from the theater, said several residents called her Thursday night and held the telephone receiver out their window so she could hear the disturbance.

“I could hear the sirens, the helicopter and the dogs barking,” said Hilgenfeld-Field, who went to the theater Friday morning to express her concern to Mayor Hunter.

“What are we going to do about this?” she asked.

Hilgenfeld-Field said previous concerts at the theater have disrupted evening funeral services.