Sign covered, future uncertain for Johnny G’s after deadly gunfight

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This article was published 20/02/2019 (1884 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The sign hanging above Johnny G’s restaurant on Main Street has been obscured in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 double homicide that has raised questions about the future of the popular late-night spot.

More than two weeks since the restaurant experienced its second fatal gang shooting in the past six years, owner Johnny Giannakis said he doesn’t know whether he’ll open the doors again.

“We’re hoping to reopen, but we’re not sure if we’ll be able to,” he said Thursday, adding he doesn’t know whether customers would return.

“Maybe we’d re-brand, maybe not. We’re still dealing with the insurance company right now, so it’s too early to say. Those guys don’t move too fast. It’s a whole can of worms.”

There were about a dozen customers at Johnny G’s at about 1:30 a.m. on Feb. 6 when Anthony Brian Cromastey, 30, and Rodney Albert Kirton, 25, pulled out guns and fatally shot one another “simultaneously” in a dispute involving members of the same street gang, police say.

Past reporting on charges laid against Cromastey in Red Deer, Alta., following a 2012 drug bust indicates police had identified him as a member of the Mad Cowz street gang.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Rob Carver said during a Feb. 8 press conference that a situation where two people fatally shot one another simultaneously was unheard of in Canada. The deaths were the fourth and fifth homicides in Winnipeg in 2019; four of the five have been the result of gun violence.

A third man, Braedon Lee Gordon, 18 — also identified by police as a member of the Mad Cowz — was charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with the incident Feb 6 violence. Video surveillance from inside the restaurant reportedly shows Gordon — who arrived with Cromastey — assaulting Kirton after he was shot.

The Johnny G’s Main Street location — which was one of a few downtown spots that stayed open as late as 4 a.m. — was the site of a fatal gang shooting on Feb. 15, 2013.

Dylan Chatkana, a 15-year-old Mad Cowz member, walked into the restaurant and opened fire in a targeted hit. William Edward Moar, a 24-year-old member of the rival B-Side gang, was killed after being shot in the neck. Chatkana was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.

Giannakis said his Exchange District Johnny G’s location, which also stayed open until 4 a.m., will now close at 1:30.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe