GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE REGULATION ADMINISTRATION

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD

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IN THE MATTER OF:

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Henock Andargie, owner

Lemma Holdings, LLC
t/a Bliss
2122 241h Place, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20006

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License# ABRA-095711
Hplder of a Retailer's Class CT
Case #15-251-00160

Respondent
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NOTICE OF SUMMARY SUSPENSION

To:

Henock Andargie, owner

Lemma Holdings, LLC
t/a Bliss
2122 24th Place, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20006

Pursuant to D.C. Official Code 25-826 (2012 Repl.), the District of Columbia Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board (Board) hereby summarily suspends the above-captioned alcoholic
beverage control license effective immediately upon your receipt of this notice.
The licensee has the right to request a hearing before the Board, and such request shall be
filed with the Board within seventy-two (72) hours after receipt of this notice. Should a request
for hearing be filed in a timely manner, a summary suspension hearing will be held within fortyeight (48) hours of such request, and a decision will be rendered by the Board within seventytwo (72) hours after the close of the hearing.
The District of Columbia is represented by the Office ofthe Attorney General in these
proceedings. A copy of your hearing request and any pleading or other written communication
addressed to the Board should also be delivered to Maureen W. Zaniel, Senior Assistant Attorney
General, Office ofthe Attorney General, Civil Enforcement Section, Suite 630 South, 441 Fourth
Street, N. W ., Washington, D. C. 20001. You, or your legal counsel if represented, should
contact this attorney at (202) 727-3886 upon receipt of this notice to discuss any potential
Offer in Compromise to be considered by the Board at the Summary Suspension Hearing.

You may appear personally at the summary suspension hearing, and you as well as the
establishment, may be represented by legal counsel. You have the right to produce witnesses
and evidence on your behalf and to cross-examine witnesses. You may examine evidence
produced, and have subpoenas issued on your behalfto require the production of witnesses and
evidence.
All hearings are conducted in the English language. If you, any corporate officer, or any
witnesses to be called are deaf, have a hearing impediment, or cannot readily understand or
communicate the spoken English language, an application may be made to the Board for the
appointment of a qualified interpreter.
The grounds for the summary suspension are outlined below.
On September 28, 2015, the Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department
(MPD) of the District of Columbia requested in writing, pursuant to D.C. Official Code 25-827
(2012 Repl.), that the Board revoke the alcoholic beverage license of the licensed establishment.
The request is based upon the conclusion that the continued operation of the licensed
establishment presents an imminent danger to the health and safety of the public. In further
support of the request, the Chief of Police concluded that "there would be an additional imminent
danger to the health and welfare of the public if the establishment is not closed, and that there is
no other immediately available measure that would ameliorate the threat to the public safety."
On or about Sunday, September 27, 2015, a call came into the Alcoholic Beverage
Regulation Administration (ABRA) Hotline reporting an assault with a deadly weapon in your
establishment. ABRA investigators visited the establishment at approximately 3:30 a.m. in
response to the call. Earlier, members of the Reimbursable Detail stationed outside your
establishment noticed that two people exiting had been hurt while inside. Those two individuals
refused ambulance services and later told an ABRA investigator that there had been an
altercation inside the establishment and that, only when they were leaving, did they recognize
they had been stabbed inside. MPD followed them by car and spoke to them at a gas station close
by. Both victims were treated at a hospital; one suffered a stab wound to his thigh and the other
suffered a stab wound to his neck/upper back area.
Almost immediately after the two victims left the premises, an MPD officer still outside,
observed a security person, Kevin Battle, emerge wearing a blood soaked shirt. He stated that
there had been an altercation inside the establishment. Mr. Battle later advised an ABRA
investigator that among the people in the altercation was an individual who slipped with a bottle
in his hand and that he was a third individual who sustained an injury. The individual sustained
an injury to his hand and was escorted by security down a hallway to a room marked employees
only. That person refused to wait for an ambulance and left the establishment. He left not
wearing a shirt, which was apparently wrapped around his injured hand. MPD did not discover
any broken glass.
The investigation shows that an altercation broke out at approximately 2:18 a.m. among a
number of patrons near the dance floor area of your establishment. Security personnel
intervened, and although the altercation broke up, security did not separate any aggressors from

victims or detain anyone for information. Also your personnel did not turn up the lights and close
the facility when the altercation was discovered.
Before MPD could conduct a crime scene investigation, your personnel attempted to
clean up the site of the altercation as well as the hallway where the person with the injured hand
was taken. The video footage shows your staff cleaning with brooms and mops. MPD had to
direct your staff to stop cleaning. Moreover, MPD officers could smell bleach. Further, Mr.
Battle removed his shirt and it was thrown in the trash.
The investigator also interviewed James Elbridge, Head of Security. He stated that when
he noticed the altercation, he moved toward it and began flashing his flashlight, a sign for
security to respond. He also stated that some of the patrons fell during the altercation and
shattered a part of the wall. He further stated that there were some exposed nails and he thought
the injured victims sustained the injuries by falling on the nails. He stated that he did not see a
bottle.
Based upon the information ascerta,ined by MPD and ABRA investigators, as described
in part above, your establishment interfered with an investigation in violation of D.C. Official
Code 25-823(5) (2012 Repl.) and you failed to preserve a crime scene in violation of D.C.
Official Code 25-823(8) (2012 Repl.).
Please note that under 23 DCMR 1502.3, your failure to appear at the time and place set
for the hearing, either in person or through counsel, or both, will not preclude the Board's
proceeding in this matter. Should you have any questions, contact ABRA Adjudication Specialist
Danette Walker at (202) 442-4418.

Chairperson
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board