South Side Residents Fed Up After Latest Fights & Arrests
SOUTH SIDE (KDKA) - Several people were arrested after two incidents on the South Side this weekend.
Police say several people started fighting and that one of the men may have been trying to steal items from a nearby business.
After the two fights, some residents said they've had enough. They're tired of their cars being vandalized.
In fact, one resident and his dad are looking for somewhere else to live.
Robert Abbott, 31, has lived on South 16th Street in the South Side his entire life.
"It used to be a nice town," Abbott said.
But, Abbott says that's not the case anymore. He's fed up after the two fights that happened over the weekend.
"I wasn't surprised. It always happens like that around here," Abbott said.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday, police were trying to arrest Michael Small, 21, who they say was fighting with another man outside of Mario's South Side Saloon.
Zachary Willis, 21, tried to intervene and allegedly started pushing one of the officers.
Then, Destinee Knox, 23, tried to get involved and allegedly attempted to kick an officer.
Shortly after that, officers say they saw Evan Blodgett, 25, throwing punches at an employee at Bar Local. When police arrested him, they found a bag of frozen sliced potatoes and a bag of frozen Mrs. T's pierogies in his pants.
The items were reportedly stolen from the bar.
"It's crazy how you have to watch everything and try not to get into fights with people because they're going in your yard going to the bathroom and breaking stuff, stealing stuff out of cars, breaking windows. Everything. It's just total chaos," Abbott said.
All four people were taken to jail and have since been released.
They face multiple charges and their preliminary hearings are scheduled for the beginning of April.
The South Side Community Council made this comment in regards to this weekend's fights:
"The South Side Community Council is working with The South Side Chamber of Commerce, the South Side Bar and Restaurant Association and Council President Bruce Kraus' office through the Responsible Hospitality Initiative to improve the quality of life for the residents and visitors to the South Side. Whenever 20,000 people descend upon a mile stretch of road that has a significant number of liquor licenses, it isn't surprising that incidents over drinking will occur. The SSCC is happy to see that these incidents were dealt with quickly and that the bar staff from one of the restaurants was actively involved with assisting the police."
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