A long history of public disturbances, fights and a January shooting that left one critically injured has led the city of Des Moines to sue an owner of a local events center to shut her doors permanently.
Des Moines filed a petition to stop allowing private events at Aplauso Event Center and Catering, 2134 E. Grand Ave., for what it says are continuous public disturbances and fights that date back to 2020. If a judge approves the injunction, an events center could no longer operate out of the building by the current or any new tenants.
The events center was formerly owned by Lazlo Calderon, but he had been banned from operating events at the site due to past issues, according to the lawsuit. His wife, Patricia Chavez, was registered as the new owner in March 2022.
The petition alleges that police met with Chavez in October after multiple and continuous calls for disturbing the peace to tell her the disturbances were unacceptable.
Then, on Jan. 28, two people were shot inside the building during a private event. One juvenile was hospitalized for a non-life-threatening injury to the neck and one man with a life-threatening injury to the abdomen, said Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek.