Butler plans to push forward with Watertown noise law

City Councilman Joseph M. Butler Jr. says he hasn’t given up on the city’s new noise ordinance, even after a judge threw out the case against the first accused offender earlier this week.

In a 27-page ruling, Fulton City Judge Spencer J. Ludington dismissed the accusations against Audio Arsenal, a car stereo business at 1057 Arsenal St., saying the ordinance was too vague.

“I’m disappointed but not discouraged,” Mr. Butler said Thursday.

Judge Ludington, who was assigned the case because two Watertown judges recused themselves, ruled that the ordinance was difficult to enforce because one police officer might believe the music coming from the car stereo business was too loud but another officer might not.

The ordinance also does not spell out exactly what constitutes “unreasonable noise,” the judge ruled. He also said the accusatory documents and court appearance ticket never mention the words “unreasonable noise.”

“The accusatory instrument should be dismissed as facially insufficient because it does not allege that the noise in question was ‘unreasonable’ and there are insufficient facts from which it could be rationally inferred that the noise was ‘unreasonable,’” the judge wrote.

Neighbor Trudy A. Ryan, who lives around the corner on Casey Street, complained to police that she heard “a thumping noise” that shook her house April 19. Neither she nor her family could be reached for comment Thursday.

On Thursday, Mr. Butler said both the ordinance and the court appearance tickets are fixable. Watertown City Council members can go back and include “more details, specifics in the ordinance,” he said.

The judge “is telling us how to fix it,” he said, noting that this particular case was difficult because there were no other witnesses.

A city police officer cited Audio Arsenal owner Gregory J. LaDuke with violating the city’s noise ordinance. Mr. LaDuke denied installing any car stereos or making any noise from the business he owns with his brother, Paul E. LaDuke, who said Thursday that he and his brother have been vindicated.

“We’re glad it was dropped,” Paul LaDuke said, adding they hope to work with neighbors in the future. “Nobody wants to pay a fine.”

He also said the controversy hurt their business over the summer when people often asked about what was happening with the case. The case had been delayed several months after both city judges recused themselves, citing previous dealings with the defendants.

Two weeks after the Watertown City Council passed stricter noise ordinance, Audio Arsenal became the city’s first accused offender.

Mrs. Ryan and her family brought their plight to the city council, which passed the new law on April 4 by a 3-2 vote. Since then, the family has called police more than 20 times about excessive noise coming from the business.