Federal Hill taco joint and bar Banditos could be fined or have its liquor license suspended or revoked as the result of a May 13 bar fight that left four people wounded, including the alleged assailant.
At an upcoming Baltimore City Liquor Board hearing on June 29, the owners of the bar at 1118 S. Charles Street will have an opportunity to defend their establishment against charges from Baltimore City’s liquor board. Among the alleged violations are that the bar failed to protect the general welfare of its patrons, prevent illegal conduct and cooperate with investigators in the aftermath.
In the related incident, 17-year-old Shawn Guzman of Baltimore County is accused of stabbing three men in an altercation early that morning. Police said Guzman was also hospitalized after he cut himself during the scuffle.
He is charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment, first-degree assault and weapons violations. His jury trial begins in late September, per online court records.
According to a liquor board hearing docket describing the charges against Banditos Bar and Kitchen, the bar’s night manager on May 13 “started to clean the bar area of the blood evidence prior to the police and crime lab techs [sic.] arrival,” and “officials recalled the strong odor of bleach within the primary crime scene.”
Thomas Akras, the liquor board’s deputy executive secretary, said on a phone call that “if the charges against the licensee are sustained, then the board could fine, suspend and/or revoke the license of the licensee. Those are the options provided to the board by the law.”
The liquor board launched its own investigation separate from the one conducted by police last month. Akras confirmed Banditos’ liquor license is still active, but declined to comment further on the details of the investigation “because the matter is pending.”
The bar’s co-owners haven’t responded to a request for comment via email. A phone line for the bar went unanswered Monday morning.
In a statement issued after the triple stabbing last month, management expressed their “deepest sympathy to those injured and their families.”
“We are shocked and appalled by this senseless violence, which is in no way typical of the environment at Banditos or within the wonderful community of Federal Hill,” they said. “In the five years since we opened, Banditos has never had an issue like this.”
The bar’s liquor board hearing is set for June 29 after 1 p.m.
