Bob’s Tavern in Finleyville to remain closed after homicide

Drug activity allegedly swirled around Bob’s Tavern in the days after a man was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Finleyville establishment Oct. 10, according to a state police trooper observing the bar during the homicide investigation.
Trooper Michael Carcella, who testified during a preliminary injunction hearing over whether the bar should remain shuttered after its emergency closure last week, said that he watched vehicle after vehicle arrive during daylight hours with people going inside before leaving after a just few minutes.
“I was surprised by the amount of activity at the bar,” Carcella testified during the Tuesday afternoon hearing.
Carcella made two traffic stops – one around noon Oct. 11 and the other shortly before 10 a.m. Oct. 12 – and arrested both the motorists on drug charges after finding crack cocaine in their vehicles. Carcella added that he lives in a neighborhood somewhat near the bar and heard from other residents and business owners worried that Bob’s Tavern was attracting unsavory activities.
“As a private citizen – a civilian – it’s absolutely a concern,” Carcella said.
Those concerns were heightened in the early hours of Oct. 10 when Jaisen A. Irwin, 29, of Monessen, was shot to death while in a car with a woman after the two patronized the bar at 3700 State Route 88. The woman, Maurissa Larae Spencer, drove from the scene and Irwin fell out of the vehicle about a quarter-mile away on Washington Avenue in Finleyville, where he died from the gunshot wounds.
Spencer has been charged with accessory to homicide, hindering apprehension, evidence tampering and reckless endangerment because she never called 911 for help before allegedly ditching the vehicle in Union Township. The shooter has not been arrested and investigators have not disclosed a motive for the killing.
On Friday, District Attorney Jason Walsh filed for an emergency injunction in Washington County Court of Common Pleas to close Bob’s Tavern due to drug activity and other issues. Judge Michael Lucas signed the emergency injunction and held the hearing Tuesday in which he determined the closure should remain in place until a final ruling can be made at a later date.
During the hearing, he heard from the owner of the bar, Rudy Zelan, along with police officers who have responded to the bar for various calls over the years.
Zelan testified he never personally called for police officers when there were incidents either because the situation “wasn’t that bad” or other staff members called instead. But he also said he did not know the establishment operated a Facebook page and he admitted that none of his bartenders is certified by the state when at least half of the staff is required to go through proper training, according to Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board regulations. He said he was unaware of any drug activity happening at the establishment despite a patron being arrested for selling crack cocaine inside on one occasion.
“If there’s one thing that’s very apparent from testimony today, it’s that you have no control,” Lucas said to Zelan before deciding the bar must remain closed until the final hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
In addition to accusations that Bob’s Tavern is a “nuisance bar,” the establishment is facing a citation from the PLCB when it allegedly continued operating in April 2020 during the state’s COVID-19 mitigation shutdown. The citation is still pending, although state Liquor Control Enforcement Officer Benjamin Brailler testified that the PLCB wants to revoke the bar’s liquor license.
“They are currently objecting to the renewal of the license,” Brailler said, adding that he recently opened his own “nuisance bar” investigation into Bob’s Tavern.
Zelan’s attorney, Charles Caputo, argued that the shooting itself happened outside the bar and that there was no evidence that it played a role in causing the incident. He added that forcing the bar to remain closed during the legal process could be the “death penalty” to Zelan’s business.
“The greater harm is going to be Mr. Zelan,” Caputo said. “This is his livelihood.”
Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann disputed that and said the bar was “acting as a conduit” to drug activity and other violence.
“Finleyville is better off not having an operating Bob’s Tavern attracting the criminal element,” Friedmann said.