Fight broken up at D.J.'s Sports Bar & Grill

Sandusky police are trying to determine what happened at D.J.'s Sports Bar & Grill early Sunday morning.Police were in the parking lot of Dollar General on Cleveland Road at about 4:30 a.m. watching several people in the parking lot of the bar. A large crowd was seen forming in the bar's doorway, but nothing appeared to be wrong.Sandusky officer Natalie Lambert heard someone yell "Stop fighting," and seconds later a single gunshot was heard coming from the area of D.J.'s, according to the police report she wrote. Lambert said it sounded as though the gunshot came from outside the building.Lambert and Sandusky officer Edward Ohlemacher ran toward the bar while calling for backup. The crowd was running away.Officers were checking for anyone injured but found no one hurt.No one would provide officers any information.Police followed a blood trail toward the back of the lot, but the heavy snowfall caused the blood to quickly become covered. Officers did collect blood samples, the report said.Blood was found inside DJ's ,including a large puddle in the men's restroom, police said.Officers smelled marijuana when they first entered the bar which was filled with smoke. Marijuana was found inside.Officers took DNA blood swabs from DJ's dance floor, bathroom sink and west side parking lot, according to the report.Officers checked Firelands Regional Medical Center to see if any victim went to the hospital. They found Taj Dickerson there with a cut on his right hand and pinky finger, according to the report. He said he was in the hallway at DJ's when someone sprayed pepper spray. He went into the bathroom to wash his eyes and discovered his hand was bleeding. He told police did not know how it happened.Sandusky police Sgt. Dawn Allen said as of Sunday afternoon no gun shot victim has surfaced. Police are not sure what happened in the bar or if anyone was shot but with the amount of blood found it is quite possible there were more people hurt than just Dickerson.Police charged D.J.'s Sports Bar & Grill owner Eugene McDuffy Jr. with permitting drug abuse and with disorderly conduct because he did not report the fight or do anything about it.McDuffy disputes all of the allegations and plans to fight the charges. Those charges are just a continuation of the harassment he has faced from Sandusky police in an effort to close him down, he said."They blame the bar for everything that happens even if it is halfway down the street," McDuffy said.The bar was closing and everyone was leaving when two women got into a fight and one lady peppersprayed the other.Employees broke up the fight, McDuffy said.Dickerson was hurt in the resulting commotion to get away from the pepper spray. McDuffy said there was not that much blood, and the only blood found was from Dickerson.There was never any gunshot, McDuffy said, explaining that police heard a truck in the parking lot backfire. They used that as an excuse to force their way into his private club, he said.Sandusky police Chief John Orzech said he could not speak to this specific call because he has yet to read the report. He did say, however, the police department is only responding to what is happening at the bar as well as the calls they are receiving."We get called there every week because people are being severely injured," Orzech said. "All anyone needs to do is look at the year, two-year history"He said the community and the neighborhood deserve safety.