WOONSOCKET – The frontwoman of one of northern Rhode Island’s most popular rhythm ‘n blues bands and her boyfriend were arrested after a row with a neighbor over a parking spot, police say.
Heidi Beth Nirk, 47, and Timothy P. Barbrick, 57, both of 565 Blackstone St., were charged with one count each of simple assault, a misdemeanor, after a feud with a 45-year-old woman who lives upstairs from them around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.
The episode reportedly unfolded when Barbrick began pounding on the woman’s door to rebuke her violating the apartment rule on limiting parking to one vehicle per unit. Barbrick admitted to police, they say, that he’d become incensed over the woman’s repeated violations after he’d come home and found that she’d taken up his “favorite” space while her son’s vehicle was also in the lot.
Responding to the apparent commotion that ensued after the woman opened the door, Nirk followed Barbrick to the woman’s apartment.
As the confrontation became physical, Barbrick allegedly grabbed the woman by the collar as Nirk “took her hand and mushed her face,” police reports say. Around that time, Barbrick allegedly picked up a floor mat and threw it at the woman.
Barbrick and Nirk returned to their apartment and called the police after the woman’s son emerged from the shower and began scolding them.
Police interviewed everyone involved in the blowup in an effort to figure out what happened. They said that Barbrick and Nirk seemed to be downplaying the severity of the incident.
“Heidi admitted to smushing (the victim’s) face but stated she did so non-violently,” Officer Robert Frye’s report says.
In the end, police concluded that Barbrick had instigated the confrontation and that he and Nirk should both be charged.
“Based on Timothy and Heidi deciding to respond to the 3rd floor to initiate and engage in a hostile argument with (the victim) over a minor issue such as parking I determined (the victim’s) story to be credible and deemed Timothy as the predominant aggressor,” the report says.
A Burrillville native, Nirk is the lead singer for her namesake musical group, the Heidi Nirk Band, known for hard-rocking rhythm ‘n blues, soul and swing. The band’s website describes Nirk as “a force of nature…Her voice is like a rollercoaster – terrifying, exhilarating and totally unpredictable.”
Unprofessional conduct