Couple accused in nightclub fracas
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By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: November 13, 2009
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A case of mistaken identity left a New Hampshire couple facing charges after an alleged dust-up at a local nightclub.
Lea M. Pushee, 33, of Orford, N.H., pleaded innocent Tuesday in White River Junction District Court to two misdemeanor charges of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct. Her husband, Chico D. Pushee, 32, also of Orford, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
According to affidavits filed with the court, on the evening of Sept. 25, the Pushees and two friends went to Shenanigans nightclub in White River Junction. John Rogers, 40, a probation and parole officer for New Hampshire, was in the club at the time.
"I noticed one of my parolees at the bar and I had asked him twice to leave because it was not an appropriate place to be," Rogers wrote in his affidavit.
The parolee in question — and his girlfriend — was with the Pushees and all four left the nightclub, but Lea Pushee went back inside to retrieve her coat, affidavits state. On her way out, according to several witnesses, she slapped a man she believed to be Rogers, but was instead the man's twin brother, Joseph Rogers.
"I was sitting on a bar stool when a woman … struck me on the left side of the face, causing stinging and radiating pain on my face and neck," Joseph Rogers wrote in his affidavit. "I have never seen or talked with this woman before this occurred."
John Rogers said the sound of Lea Pushee hitting his brother was "like a ruler hitting a chalk board" and when police arrived they saw the side of Joseph Rogers' face was bright red, records state. Pushee also allegedly assaulted two bouncers on her way out before they restrained her, according to affidavits.
When police arrived, they encountered a large crowd of people in the parking lot and an agitated Chico Pushee pushing a bouncer, records state.
"As I approached the male (Chico Pushee), he began growling loudly and flexing his muscles in an aggressive manner," wrote Hartford police Officer Jonathan Adams, who placed Chico Pushee under arrest.
Both Pushees had been drinking, records state. Chico Pushee had a blood alcohol content of 0.156 and Lea Pushee registered 0.089, according to affidavits.
Chico Pushee was ordered to pay $371 in fines and surcharges. Lea Pushee is free on conditions she submits to alcohol testing and stays out of Shenanigans.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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