Over a year after he was charged with brutally beating a patron at his bar, Alchemy Nightclub owner Rommerro Farrah agreed Friday to pay for the victim’s medical bills — in return for a chance to avoid jail time.
Melissa Bailey File Photo
Farrah, who’s 50, appeared in Connecticut Superior Court on Elm Street Friday morning to answer to charges stemming from an alleged vicious assault outside his Crown Street nightclub on Feb. 1, 2009. Police accused him of being one of a group of men who attacked clubgoer Steven Lunn on a sidewalk, leaving him with a broken nose.
Farrah faced up to 20 years behind bars for the charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree assault, a Class B felony.
On Friday, Farrah agreed to a deal that would let him dispense with the assault charges he faces — if he puts up $5,000 towards straightening the young man’s nose.
Farrah, a small man with an aquiline nose and a goatee flecked with gray, showed up in court on Friday wearing black slacks, a white shirt, and a black and gray striped tie. He sat in Courtroom C near his lawyer, John Carta, and Lunn’s attorney, Marissa Bigelli. Lunn, a slender man in his early 20s with broad shoulders and blond hair, sat across the room, wearing designer jeans and a button-down shirt with vertical pink and purple stripes.
After negotiating behind closed doors, the lawyers for the defendant and victim agreed on a deal that would allow Farrah to avoid jail time by entering accelerated rehabilitation (AR), a program for first-time offenders that allows them to avoid a trial by paying a small fee and completing up to two years of probation.
Judge Earl Richards promised to grant AR if Farrah comes up with $5,000 by Aug. 13. That money would go to the victim, Steven Lunn, to pay for the $2,200 in medical bills that resulted from the attack. Lunn said he plans to put the balance of $2,800 towards an operation that will straighten his crooked nose.
The deal was struck in the judge’s chambers.
At around 10:30 a.m., Carta and Bigelli were called in to the chambers to confer with a state prosecutor. Ten minutes later, Carta was back in the courtroom. He called Farrah over to a corner for a conversation in hushed tones.
Outside in the noisy courthouse atrium, Bigelli and Lunn also talked about a possible agreement. Lunn sighed and rubbed his eyes as he listened to his attorney.
When Bigelli stepped back into the courtroom to speak with Carta, Lunn explained the pending deal.
“They’re going to pay for my medical bills,” he said. In exchange, Lunn would agree not to object to AR.
Lunn has shown up at every one of Farrah’s court dates since the clubowner was charged on March 15, 2009 with his role in the attack.
According to a police report, Lunn was attacked by six or seven staffers from Club Elevate (pictured), a night spot affiliated with and adjacent to Alchemy on Crown Street. They beat him up once on the sidewalk outside the club. Lunn fled to the other side of the street, but the bouncers followed him and beat him again. He was “knocked to the ground and then kicked in the face by Romero, the owner of Club Elevate,” the report states.
The beating was captured on surveillance video from a nearby club. Police used that footage, along with testimony from Lunn, to identify and arrest Farrah.
Since the beating, Lunn’s nose has been bent toward to the left side of his face. He said it’s given him a “complex,” but it’s more than simply psychological.
“I can’t smell. … I can’t breathe. … It’s changed the tone of my voice,” he said. “I don’t get a good night sleep like I used to. It sucks.”
Lunn said he may pursue a civil case against Farrah if the $2,800 isn’t enough for an operation to straighten his nose.
Lunn said he isn’t enthusiastic about the deal, but it was the best he could do.
“If I deny him AR, it can go to trial,” he said. “But he could go to trial and still get AR” without having to pay Lunn anything.
After a few minutes, Bigelli reappeared and summarized the agreement with Carta: Farrah would give Lunn $5,000 by Aug. 13; AR would be granted. Does that sound okay?
“That’s fine,” Lunn said flatly, as he stepped back into the courtroom at 10:55 a.m.
The case was called at 11:32 a.m. Judge Richards said that in order to make Farrah eligible for AR, his charge would be dropped from first-degree to second-degree assault. Richards said he was reluctant to grant AR without the consent of the victim. But since the victim had agreed to AR, on the condition of receiving $5,000 up front, Judge Richards said he would “consider AR favorably.”
He set a new court date for Aug. 13, at which time Farrah will be granted AR if he submits the $5,000.
As Farrah and Carta left the courthouse, Carta said the agreement neither precludes nor prejudices a civil case in the future. He said his client did not wish to speak.
“He’s feeling great,” Carta said.