Police

Cops: Man arrested after early morning fight at Flanders bar

Rancho Latino bar on Flanders Road. Paul Squire photo.
Rancho Latino bar on Flanders Road. Paul Squire photo.

A fight over a woman between two drunken patrons at a Flanders restaurant early Monday morning left one man with a swollen eye and the other in police custody, authorities said.

The assault occurred about 12:20 a.m., when 38-year-old Wilner Vaca of Smithtown got into a dispute with another intoxicated man at Rancho Latino on Flanders Road, Sgt. Susan Ralph said.

Mr. Vaca allegedly punched the other man in the face, causing a cut and swelling to his right eye, according to a police report. An employee at the restaurant called 911, and gave a statement to responding officers about the fight.

The victim was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment and Mr. Vaca was arrested. He was charged with misdemeanor assault and held for arraignment in town court, police said.

The bar has been the site of previous assaults between patrons, according to police reports. Two men were hospitalized last July after they were hit with glass bottles during a brawl, police said, and two Flanders men were arrested in 2011 after they reportedly struck another patron with a beer bottle and beat him as he lay on the ground.