Scuffle in Butte bar sends man to jail

Frontiersman

BUTTE — A bar fight Friday at the Del Rois bar ended with one patron in jail facing weapons charges for allegedly pulling out a pistol.

“We had a drunk patron during a bar fight present a firearm,” Alaska State Trooper investigator Luis Nieves said on scene.

The call to respond to the bar at Mile 10 Glenn Highway came at 7:50 p.m. Nieves and investigator Curtis Vik were the closest to the scene and arrived first. Each brought out two patrons.

One, Tyler L. Gardino, 28, of Palmer had a bloody cheek from a busted lip. His hands were tied behind his back with duct tape. More tape was stuck to his ankles but had been cut, allowing him to walk. Gardino was eventually arrested.

Nieves said the bartender, a retired corrections officer with 20 years’ experience, took care of the situation and called troopers.

“We rarely get called here because usually they police themselves,” Nieves said.

The other man pulled from the bar was one of Gardino’s friends. He was also briefly detained.

The man was too intoxicated to drive so troopers sent him walking. As Nieves drove away, the man was sitting on a culvert thumbing a ride.

Gardino was arrested for assault and two counts of weapons misconduct. He was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in lieu of $10,000 bail.