A loaded 9mm handgun fell to the ground during a fight outside the Rose & Crown just after midnight on Wednesday, and a Cape Cod man was later charged with weapons offenses including carrying a loaded firearm while intoxicated.
The suspect, Anthony Armenti, 22, of Dennis, MA, allegedly fled the scene after dropping the Smith and Wesson handgun out of the front pocket of his sweatshirt, which was ripped off him during the fight along with one of his shoes. The gun was quickly confiscated by a State Police Trooper who was in the downtown area and responded to the scene. Armenti, who was the licensed owner of the weapon, was later found by police officers on South Beach Street, where he was detained, handcuffed and searched.
Nantucket Police officers were able to obtain surveillance video of parts of the altercation that prompted Rose & Crown staff “to lock the door to the restaurant and hide in fear for their safety,” according to a police report.
The video, according to the report, shows Armenti and a co-worker outside the bar and restaurant getting into a verbal altercation with three unidentified males. “Armenti proceeds to lift and show the rear end of what appears to be a firearm out from the front pocket of his sweatshirt towards one of the individuals.” In the ensuing altercation, Armenti was tackled to the ground, knocking over the barricades in front of the restaurant, and “a large scuffle then ensues on the ground in (the) roadway.”
The firearm, which was loaded with seven rounds, dropped to the ground and Armenti fled the scene shirtless and with just one shoe on his left foot, the report states. During the ensuing investigation, police spoke to the bartender on duty who said both Armenti and his friend, a co-worker, had consumed four to five alcoholic drinks each that night. Officers also interviewed Armenti’s co-worker, who was “uncooperative” and at first claimed not to know Armenti at all. The co-worker, who is Black, said the three other individuals involved in the altercation had “jumped” him and that the incident “had to do with race.”
When officers tracked Armenti down on South Beach Street, he “admitted to being in the altercation and brandishing the firearm out of fear for his safety…Armenti stated he did not know the area or the individuals so he exposed the weapon out of fear for his safety.”
Armenti was administered a breathalyzer test by the officers, which showed a blood alcohol content of .133 percent. He told officers that he “was regretful for his decision to bring the gun out to the bar with him” and that he was aware of Massachusetts gun laws that prohibit carrying a firearm under the influence of alcohol.
Armenti was not arrested, but instead transported by police to a residence on Hussey Street where he is staying while working on the island. Officers confiscated his Massachusetts license to carry, and Armenti was issued a summons to appear in court on charges of disorderly conduct, improper storage of a firearm, and carrying a loaded firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Gun Falls To Ground During Downtown Brawl
