The owner of an Ashford bar, which was the scene of two violent incidents during the Christmas holiday weekend, is dealing with the fallout of those incidents, as are many of those involved.

Sterno's Bar & Grill, voluntarily surrendered its liquor license to the W.Va. Alcohol Beverage Control Administration last week and were also stripped of their video lottery license from the state lottery commission.

"We're not the type of business that wants to put up with anything that's wrong, or any of that business," said Caroline Weaver, owner of Sterno's. "Even though its a private club, I've always said that the State Police and the Sheriff have an open invitation."

According to Weaver, her family has owned the establishment for 36 years and no such trouble has ever occurred there before.

"After speaking with our Enforcement Supervisor assigned to Boone County and after reviewing our enforcement and violations data base, Sterno's has for the most part been in compliance with WV ABCA State Code," said ABCA spokesman Gig Robinson. "The last violation occurred on March 19, 2003 for underage sales which resulted in a $300.00 fine that was paid on April 17, 2003."

Robinson says that they have received no other complaints from citizens or law enforcement about the bar.

The violence leading to all this was sparked on Christmas Eve night when Walter P. McDerment Jr., 47, of Ridgeview died, according to a report of the state medical examiner, as a result of blunt force trauma to the head inflicted with a pool stick.

The following morning, 24-year-old Jason Gillispie of Alum Creek was arrested, charged with the man's murder.

At around 8 p.m. that night, back at Sterno's, Gillispie's brother John Gillispie Jr. became engaged in a fight with Micheal Chapman, 26, 0f Ridgeview.

Once the fight ensued, three other men joined in, including John Gillispie Sr., father of the Gillispie brothers.

During the fray, the .45-caliber handgun that Chapman was carrying discharged hitting John Sr. in the hand.

A corrections officer for South Central Regional Jail, Chapman was licensed to carry the concealed weapon.

Whether the shooting was intentional or not is not clear, according to police. Chapman insists that his involvement in the fight was purely self defense.

After spending Christmas day with his family, Chapman says he went to Sterno's in the evening for a beer. After being there for a short time, John Jr. came in and muttered something to him.

Gillispie then left the bar and Chapman says he went to the door to hold it shut, but John Jr., his father and two other men overpowered him and tried to get the gun away from him.

This, according to Chapman, is when the gun went off.

Chapman stayed at the bar while the other men took Gillispie Sr. to CAMC General to be treated for the wound.

According to Chapman, he told the bartender to call 911 and waited for police to arrive.

The gun was seized by police as part of the investigation, he said.

He says he never intended to get in any trouble at Sterno’s. He’s been going there since he was 21. It’s a nice place where a lot of people go to eat, he said.

John King, operations chief of the state Regional Jail Authority, said Chapman is suspended without pay and could return to his job with back pay, or he could face a subsequent investigation and possible corrective action, depending on the results of the police investigation.

After the injury, Gillispie is unsure as to whether he will be able to return to work.

"I got my hand shot through," he said.

According to him, the fight was a result of trouble that had been brewing for years.

Chapman said that he had had problems with the Gillispies since August, when he intervened in a fight.

Sheriff Rodney Miller says that they believe the two incidents are related, simply because they involved members of the same family. However, they are not sure that Chapman had any link to the incident from the night before.

Chapman says that his fight had nothing to do with the previous night's events.