The New London Police Department has issued arrest warrants for the leaders of the Wild Style Motorcycle Club in connection with a Sept. 22 brawl that left one man with life-threatening injuries.
Deputy Chief Peter Reichard said the warrants charge Jose Roman, 34, of 241 Elm Street, and Juan Baptisa-Roman, 31, of 5 Lorenzo Street in Waterford, with first-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon. The men are siblings, and Roman is the president of the club while Baptisa-Roman is vice president. The warrants call for both men to be held on a $400,000 bond.
The men are accused of stabbing 26-year-old Anthony Swift of New London in the fight, which broke out inside the club located at the rear of 130 Bank Street and extended to the parking lot and South Water Street. Police responded to a report of a stabbing at 3:30 a.m. and found Swift suffering from multiple wounds caused by an edged weapon. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for emergency surgery and later released.
Three other men were also injured in the altercation. 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.
"Through the intensive investigative efforts of detectives, police were able to determine that motorcycle club president Jose Roman and vice president Juan Baptista-Roman were responsible for the assault injures suffered by the stabbing victim," said Reichard.
The city's zoning enforcement officer has since issued a cease and desist order to the building owner and club, saying the club did not have the necessary zoning permit to be at the site. The correspondence is included on the agenda for a special meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday.
Roman has a misdemeanor criminal history, including convictions for reckless driving and possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. Baptista-Roman's only criminal history in Connecticut is a 2011 conviction for driving under suspension, for which he received a suspended 60-day jail sentence.
