Man Charged with Firing Gun Outside North Park Lounge Says He Was Threatened First

A Butler man said protecting a female friend’s honor eventually led him to fire a gun outside the North Park Lounge in Cranberry over the summer.

Domenico Lamberto, 32, of Sunset Drive, is charged with reckless endangerment  and disorderly conduct while fighting in the July 22 incident.

According to court documents, Lamberto told Cranberry Police his friend, Christina Zarnick, was dancing with an unidentified man at Bamboo Bar near the 2 a.m. closing time when he saw the man pull up the back of Zarnick's dress. Bamboo Bar is a separate bar behind the main North Park Lounge restaurant.

Lamberto told police he'd told the man earlier to make sure he treated Zarnick with respect. When Lamberto confronted the man. Bamboo Bar’s security staff arrived in the area and told the other man to leave the bar, police said.

After Lamberto and Zarnick left Bamboo Bar and headed to the parking lot behind the building, Lamberto told police the other man threatened him with a knife and threatened to cut his throat.

Lamberto also said the man claimed to have a gun and threatened to shoot him, although Lamberto did not see one, according to the criminal complaint filed by Cranberry Police. The man threatened to shoot him, 

“. . . This was when Lamberto retrieved his gun from the truck and fired a warning shot in the air,” police said in the criminal complaint.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

Lamberto and Zarnick got in Lamberto’s truck and drove from the lounge. A short time later, Jackson Township police pulled them over near Evans City Elementary School.

The Jackson officers found a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the side pocket of the driver’s door, Cranberry Police said.

After searching the car, police also discovered a green and black bag belonging to Zarnick that they said contained numerous syringes and several burnt spoons, according to the criminal complaint. Zarnick, 28, of Butler, is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lamberto and Zarnick waived their right to preliminary hearings Oct. 12 before District Judge David Kovach in Cranberry. They are scheduled to be formally arraigned Nov. 20 in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.