PARKSVILLE — A fight last Sunday on Main Street and Short Avenue pitted Joseph Peters Sr. and Joseph Peters Jr. on one side and Wade St. Germain, RJ Baker and April Slegona (all three of Cabernet Franks) on the other, with a few other unidentified people also involved. It led to Peters' Sr. being arrested a day later and released on Tuesday.

St. Germain approached Peters Sunday afternoon in front of the shuttered drugstore at Short Avenue and Main Street. St. Germain was visibly angry that Peters was holding up a provocative sign that encouraged customers not to eat at the restaurant. Peters has waged a vocal campaign in person and online consistently for about two years, trying to publicly embarrass the restaurant/entertainment venue. Peters has asserted regularly and very recently that he wants to put them out of business.

Peters, owner of Peters Glass, has a home and business directly next door to the properties owned by RJ Baker that he purchased in the early 2000s.

“You get too close to me, you may get hit ... I'm telling you right now,” Peters is heard saying to St. Germain in a Facebook Live video that's focused on a seated Peters Sr. right before Sunday's altercation. That feed, shot by St. Germain, then gets cut off as Peters allegedly began punching St. Germain, who along with his employee Slegona suffered injuries. Both had to be taken to Catskill Regional Medical Center for treatment and were later released. St. Germain said late Wednesday from Manhattan, “still no feeling on from my left upper lip to nostril.”

Joe Peters Sr. declined comment based on the advice of his attorney John Ferrara. But he did make his son, Joe Peters Jr. available. Ferrara has previously said that he doesn't talk to the media.

“My dad was sitting and protesting and you see the chair in the video,” Joe Peters Jr. said yesterday. “Wade came out of the restaurant and approached my Dad and smacked the sign out of his hand. He (St. Germain) went over there to start a fight and he got what he wanted.” Peters Jr. did not deny that his father was the cause of St. Germain's injuries.

Peters Jr. also confirmed that state police arrested his father “for violating the order of protection and stalking.” Peters Sr. was held overnight in Sullivan County Jail. He was released Tuesday afternoon after making the $10,000 bail imposed by Town of Liberty Judge Kirk Orseck.

Peters Jr. also told the Democrat that two additional charges were filed against his father on Wednesday, one for harassment and another for disorderly conduct. He will have to answer those charge in August, his son said.

Another video posted to YouTube shows a wider view of the confrontation in the middle of Short and Main

“I was punched by both Joes several times and knocked to the ground,” St. Germain said late Tuesday. “ I have a big shiner and contusions on my arm and still totally numb on the left side of my mouth and nose.” He added that he was seeing double and had previous concussions.

St. Germain said that three State Troopers came to Catskill Regional hospital late Sunday “but I was too upset to talk without yelling at them” and planned to give them a statement at another time.

Slegona, who has worked at Cabernet Franks since it opened two summers ago, said in a statement.

“I observed Wade St. Germain on the four corners of Short Street and Main Street in Parksville, NY, on the ground being beaten up by Joe Peters Senior and Joe Peters Junior. There was nobody there to help, so I ran out on the road to deter Joe Senior and his son from further harming Germain. As I approached, I yelled at Joe Peters to get off of him (without making any physical contact) and he grabbed me by both of my arms, squeezing with full force, as his son pushed me away. Having been physically attacked, I went to kick Joe Peters Jr. in self defense, but he grabbed my foot while Joe Peters Sr. yelled "get out of here!" as he threw me to the cement. I was in danger and felt that I needed to defend myself and Germain, so I swung my pocketbook a few times to keep Joe Peters Sr. away. He continued to threaten other neighbors and witnesses who were trying to break up the fight.” Slegona said she has “major bruising on my arms from where I was grabbed, a sprained wrist, hip pain, and I am currently unable to go to work because of the condition I am in.”

Peters Jr. denies that he threw Slegona to the cement and said he acted in self defense when she tried to kick him in the groin and then she fell.

The Democrat also tried Wednesday and early Thursday to reach District Attorney Jim Farrell for information about any charges filed after the altercation. Matthew Bennett is reportedly the new ADA on the case but was not made available for comment.

Trooper Steven Nevel, the public information officer for Troop K, had no record of the arrest as of Wednesday - and Undersheriff Eric Chaboty said the County Sheriff's office was not involved in the response. But Jerry Dorfman, attorney for St. Germain and Baker, said that one sheriff did in fact respond along with four state troopers. Dorfman said yesterday that he had not seen any police report and had implored the officers to arrest Peters for illegally being on the couple's property.

Slegona said that “for the last three months, Joe Peters Sr. has additionally turned his attention to me, and has begun to harass me when I arrive to work.”

She went on: “For the last two years, Joe Peters Sr. and his two sons have dedicated almost every single weekend to harassing the owners and customers of Cabernet Frank's. ... Being a woman, I never expected to be attacked by two men before, ...I care for the owners, and Parksville is my home.”

The Peters have consistently argued for nearly two years that the ongoing tensions has been about feral cats: Peters was feeding them and refused to stop after many requests by St. Germain and Baker. So the couple said that they later safely removed the cats from the area to maintain the sanitation of their restaurant business.

Slegona said this about the dispute:

“Joe Peters Sr. and his family would like you to believe that this situation is about the cats, but it is not. When they found out the owners of Cabernet Frank's were gay, they stopped coming to the restaurant. Joe Peters Sr. can be heard yelling homophobic slurs such as babycakes, honeybuns, faggot, and other homophobic dialogue, BEFORE anything with the cats had transpired. He has devised a plan to use the cats as an excuse to harass the kind and hard-working owner of Cabernet Frank's. It is a campaign driven by hate and ignorance.”

In an interview with Farrell in recent months, the District Attorney said that his office was not investigating any of the incidents as hate crimes, in part, because neither Sheriff Michael Schiff nor the New York State Police had reported it.

Last Saturday, supporters of Cabernet Franks held a peaceful protest in front of the property, holding up signs that were against Peters and that supported Cabernet Frank's. It was also a call to action for local law enforcement to finally enforce the long-standing court order.

“What is happening here is a hate crime,” Slegona said. “They (Wade and RJ are bringing revenue, buzz, and business, to an otherwise desolate and inactive town...and they are being met with hatred, ignorance, and violence-and it is stifling this town's progress. No one deserves to be treated the way that they are being treated.”

Ari Mir-Pontier, executive director of the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission said she could not comment on the dispute directly but that “several sources throughout the county have contacted the Commission, and that she is “monitoring the situation.”

“If they want to mediate it, we'll take the signs down and stop everything,” Peters Jr. said Thursday.