Court of Common Pleas judge sides with Westmoreland DA to close New Kensington Elks Lodge
The effort to close the Elks Lodge in New Kensington took another step this past week.
A judge of the Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of the Westmoreland County District Attorney's order to close the lodge.
This all comes after a shooting last year when Steffon Ballard killed his brother Jeffrey in December.
For now, the lodge will be closed until July of 2027.
District attorney orders Elks Lodge to close
Late in 2025, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli and the Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Enforcement filed an emergency injunction to close the Elks Lodge in New Kensington.
"Enough is enough. The people of New Kensington do not deserve the persistent disturbances and violence that occur at this establishment," Ziccarelli said in a statement. "We are going to proceed in our efforts to curtail the unacceptable behavior that continues to plague this neighborhood."
Along with the deadly shooting, the district attorney said that since 2022, police had been called to the lodge for an "inordinate number of incidents." They claimed that more than 30 incidents had been reported in that three-year span. Along with the calls, they also cited that the lodge had repeatedly failed to adhere to regulations set forth by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Brother of bouncer arrested and charged with homicide
After the early morning shooting in December 2025 that left Jeffrey Ballard dead, days later, Steffon Ballard was taken into custody.
According to police, Jeffrey and his brother Steffon got into a fight with another man in the parking lot. Steffon went to use his gun to hit the man, but the gun fired and hit Jeffrey in the leg.
Jeffrey was taken to the hospital, but he ultimately died due to exsanguination from a gunshot wound to the upper left thigh, which was ruled a homicide.
Steffon was charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, and a firearms violation.
