EAST AURORA, NY - A man in his forties is now facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after allegedly retrieving a firearm from his car and pointing it at customers inside a popular restaurant following a verbal dispute over gratuity.
On Wednesday, April 1, at 11:15 p.m., East Aurora Police received a report of a male customer brandishing a firearm at Bar-Bill Tavern, according to Syracuse.com. Police immediately responded, but the alleged subject had already fled the scene.
Witnesses told police that Scott Rutkowski, of West Seneca, had grown upset over a $1 tip another customer had left and went outside to his car to retrieve a gun. Witnesses said that Rutkowski came back into the restaurant and displayed a handgun, pointing it in the direction of several customers.
After leaving Bar-Bill, Rutkowski went to Main and Hamlin and showed the gun to people there as well, police said. Erie County Sheriff's Office deputies located Rutkowski in Springville at 1:40 a.m. on Thursday, April 2. He was taken into custody without further incident and was transferred to the East Aurora Police.
He has since been charged with menacing in the second degree, prohibited use of a weapon, reckless endangerment in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, and criminal possession of a firearm in a sensitive location. The charges include two felonies and three misdemeanors.
Lt. Dustin Waldron told WGRZ that the incident was unprecedented for the location. "In my 17 years working here in law enforcement, this is the first time we’ve had an incident resembling anything close to this at the Bar-Bill or Main and Hamlin, where the offender eventually made his way over to later on. Yeah. First time. 17 years,” Waldron said.
Rutkowski was arraigned in the Town of Aurora Court and remains in the Erie County Holding Center, where he awaits a felony hearing. "Not utilizing proper safe gun ownership is a concern, so if somebody is not exercising appropriate gun ownership, brandishing a firearm in a bar, pointing it in several people's directions, it's a concern," said Lt. Waldron.
On Wednesday, April 1, at 11:15 p.m., East Aurora Police received a report of a male customer brandishing a firearm at Bar-Bill Tavern, according to Syracuse.com. Police immediately responded, but the alleged subject had already fled the scene.
Witnesses told police that Scott Rutkowski, of West Seneca, had grown upset over a $1 tip another customer had left and went outside to his car to retrieve a gun. Witnesses said that Rutkowski came back into the restaurant and displayed a handgun, pointing it in the direction of several customers.
After leaving Bar-Bill, Rutkowski went to Main and Hamlin and showed the gun to people there as well, police said. Erie County Sheriff's Office deputies located Rutkowski in Springville at 1:40 a.m. on Thursday, April 2. He was taken into custody without further incident and was transferred to the East Aurora Police.
He has since been charged with menacing in the second degree, prohibited use of a weapon, reckless endangerment in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, and criminal possession of a firearm in a sensitive location. The charges include two felonies and three misdemeanors.
Lt. Dustin Waldron told WGRZ that the incident was unprecedented for the location. "In my 17 years working here in law enforcement, this is the first time we’ve had an incident resembling anything close to this at the Bar-Bill or Main and Hamlin, where the offender eventually made his way over to later on. Yeah. First time. 17 years,” Waldron said.
Rutkowski was arraigned in the Town of Aurora Court and remains in the Erie County Holding Center, where he awaits a felony hearing. "Not utilizing proper safe gun ownership is a concern, so if somebody is not exercising appropriate gun ownership, brandishing a firearm in a bar, pointing it in several people's directions, it's a concern," said Lt. Waldron.
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