Image of Dapkus courtesy of Facebook
By Thomas Grillo
LYNN — Robert Dapkus, the 57-year-old suspect who told police he wouldn’t be taken into custody before he was fatally shot, was a regular at the Porthole Restaurant where staff say he was tossed for bad behavior.
“He was obnoxious and rude,” said Darlene Raffaele, a bartender at the eatery. “He thought he was better than everyone else and acted like he owned the place.”
On Monday morning, police went to Dapkus’ 300 Lynn Shore Drive apartment with a search warrant that linked him to an armed robbery at the Porthole last week.
When they arrived, his girlfriend told police through the locked door that he was armed.
Officers then made a forced entry into the apartment. As soon as the door breached, an officer saw the suspect pointing a gun at the door and he announced, “gun,” at which time the officers fell back.
Dapkus exited the apartment into the hallway still pointing a gun at officers. Three officers then fired at the suspect, according to a statement released on Monday by the Essex County District Attorney’s office.
An unflattering portrait of Dapkus emerged a day after the shooting.
Sitting at the Porthole’s bar months ago, he wrote a bunch of flirtatious things to Raffaele on a napkin, such as “I like you,” “I want to date you.” But when she declined, it got nasty, she recalled, and at one point he used the “c” word.
“You can leave right now,” she remembers telling him and he lit a cigarette at which point male staffers escorted him out.
Dapkus returned weeks later to apologize and was allowed into the restaurant, she said, only to find the objectionable behavior returned as well.
It’s unclear what Dapkus did for a living, but in 2013 he sold a 2,250-square-foot lot in South Boston for $680,000, according to county records.
Robert Gaudet, the restaurant’s owner, said Dapkus began patronizing the restaurant about four years ago. From the moment they first met, Gaudet, 67, was unimpressed.
“He was an arrogant idiot and I never really trusted him even though he was always trying to be my best friend,” he said.
“More than a few times, he told me that he’s seen my car in the parking lot early in the morning, little did I know he was casing the place.”
Dapkus would often talk to Gaudet at the bar about other restaurants and what he disliked about them.
“He would bad mouth other restaurants and I really don’t like hearing such talk because if he’s bad mouthing them today, he’ll bad mouth me tomorrow,” he said. “He used to say the stupidest things about restaurants, it’s not a life-changing event to get dinner.”
But if Dapkus’ Facebook page is any indication, he only had good things to say about the Porthole. “Love the food and drinks at the Porthole. Prices are reasonable for the amount of food that you receive. Staff are always pleasant, especially the bartenders: Darlene, Cori, John along with everyone else. If you’re looking for a nice meal, head on over. Tuesday nights are Burger Nights, $3 for any kind of burger. Best deal in town.”
The armed robbery which took place in the restaurant’s upstairs office still haunts Gaudet. He was tied up along with two other employees by two men who wore ski masks.
“One of them kept saying, ‘Do you want to go home to your family? We need the money, we’re gonna blow your head off.’”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com. Bridget Turcotte contributed to this report.