Investigation into Oneida Square fights continue

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By EVAN WHITE

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - A weekend party involving hundreds turned ugly in Utica's Oneida Square on Sunday morning, and now, investigators are continuing to put the pieces together as to what happened.

At 12:13 a.m. Sunday morning, police responded to the Oneida Square area of Genesee Street, where they found between 150-200 people engaged in numerous fights. Police said the crowd spilled into Oneida Square after leaving a party at the Polish Veteran's Club on Francis Street.

Utica Police say numerous fights took place night, and the individuals involved in those fights came from the club on Francis Street, which apparently rented out its space. The crowds inside later spilled into Oneida Square.

Police aren't saying what may have sparked the fights, but say no serious injuries were reported.

While charges aren't expected to be filed against the Veteran's Club, police say it is alarming that several incidents have taken place there in recent years.

"I've gotten multiple calls in my office," said Deputy Chief Mark Williams. "Complaints of disorderly groups and fighting. And we want to talk with them to work with us."

According to Utica Police, eight people were arrested over the weekend in regard to the incident. Three of them were juveniles, who were released to their parent/guardian.

Others charged included:

*Sanel Nadarevic, 16, of Utica, charged with disorderly conduct
*Ray Mungo, 16, of Utica, charged with disorderly conduct
*Louis Rodriguez, 16, charged with disorderly conduct

Officers said that as they attempted to make these six arrests and disperse the groups, two females became involved, and tried to prevent the officers from making the arrests. This, subsequently, led to the arrest of the two women as well.

Those women are:

*Ann Sheppard, 48, of Utica, charged with obstructing governmental administration
*Jessie Anderson, 38, of Utica, charged with harassment, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest

Police said they don't expect to charge anyone else in the fight. However, they added that Nadarevic, Mungo, Rodriguez, Sheppard, and Anderson, could see charges elevated. As far as the veteran's club goes, police records show four incidents involving rowdy crowds in the last four years.

WKTV placed a call to the Polish Veteran's Center Monday morning. They hung up the phone immediately when asked about the incident.

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