Motorcycle Club President Arrested

The New London Police Department has arrested the president of the Wild Style Motorcycle Club on charges related to a Sept. 22 fight in which one man was stabbed.

Deputy Chief Peter Reichard said 34-year-old Jose Roman, of 241 Elm Street, was charged on Saturday evening with first-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon. He is being held on a $400,000 bond.

Reichard said on Friday that arrest warrants had been issued for Roman and his brother, 31-year-old Juan Baptista-Roman of 5 Lorenzo Street in Waterford. The warrant for Baptista-Roman, the club's vice president, contains the same charges. Reichard said he has not yet been apprehended and anyone with information on his location should call their local police department.

The fight took place at the club, located in the lower level of 130 Bank Street with frontage on South Water Street. Police received a report of a stabbing at about 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 22 and found 26-year-old Anthony Swift of New London suffering from multiple wounds caused by an edged weapon. The wounds were considered life-threatening and he was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for emergency surgery. He has since recovered.

Witnesses said the fight broke out inside the club and spilled out into the parking lot and South Water Street. Three other men were also injured in the brawl. Jairo Perez, 28, of Guilford, suffered several head and facial injuries after being struck by a large wooden object. Henry Albino, 31, of New London, had lacerations to his face and ear. Miguel Albino, 33, of New London, suffered a possible broken leg while trying to run from the site. All three men were treated and released from Lawrence & Memorial Hospital.

The city's zoning enforcement officer later issued a cease and desist order to halt the operation of the club, saying it did not have a proper permit. The correspondence is included on the agenda for a special meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday.

Roman has a felony criminal conviction of sale of hallucinogenic or narcotic drugs. He was sentenced in January of 2010 to three years in prison, suspended after one year, with three years of probation. Roman also has a total of five misdemeanor convictions on motor vehicle, drug possession, and breach of peace charges.

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