Bar fight leaves black belt Comatose

[Kungfoolss]

Man in coma after fight at bar

By CHARLES ADAMSON, Californian staff writer

Tuesday December 17, 2002, 10:55:49 PM

Bakersfield police arrived at Guthrie's Alley Cat downtown bar early Saturday morning to find Alan Johnson Craig reportedly drunk and bleeding. A bouncer had punched Craig, who then fell and hit his head on the pavement, according to bar bouncers' accounts to police. A disoriented and intoxicated Craig, 44, told police he didn't want to press charges and was taken to Kern Medical Center for treatment, police said. His brain later swelled and he lost consciousness. Now Craig's family say doctors may have to remove a portion of his brain to save his life. His family said they believe he was severely beaten.

Bar owner Ken Reed said his bouncer punched a drunk and belligerent Craig just once when the 6-foot, 3-inch martial arts black belt tried to attack the bouncer.

Police arrested Alley Cat bouncer Erick Michael McGhee on Monday afternoon for felony battery causing great bodily harm. "It was self-defense. I can't say anything else," McGhee said in a phone interview Tuesday. Craig remained unconscious and on a ventilator Monday in the KMC intensive care unit. If he dies, McGhee could face murder charges, officials said. The night for Craig started out at a company Christmas party held at a steakhouse by his employer, Rosedale Glass Co. He, his fiancée Denise King, and a friend went to the Alley Cat and then another bar. King left Craig at 11 p.m., she said. "He and I argued a little bit. I said I wanted to go home and he didn't. It was nothing major," King said.

"He wasn't belligerently drunk. He was happy, having a good time," King said. His friend left shortly after midnight Friday, King said. Sometime after that, Craig went back to the Alley Cat. When Craig returned to the Alley Cat he asked for a Scotch, Reed said. He was refused and given a glass of water instead. Reed said Craig asked three more times, eventually cursing at the bartender and throwing a glass at him. That's when Craig was kicked out of the bar. Police were called to the scene at 12:44 a.m. Saturday.

McGhee told police that Craig charged him, McGhee hit him in the head once and Craig fell to the ground, striking his head, said police Detective Mary Degeare. Craig's forehead was fractured, his nose and cheek bone broken, a tooth was dislodged and his brain swelled, family members said. Friend Jodi Martin said Craig was conscious for short periods of time over the weekend, at one point acknowledging people in the room.

"Two seconds later he starts looking at the ceiling and saying, 'Mama, mama.' I said 'Oh my God. He's fried'." Martin said.

Reed apologized, but said Craig's friends and family shouldn't have left him alone while he was drunk. "He was drunk and aggressive and we were doing our job and this is a freak accident," Reed said. "I'm devastated. I haven't been able to sleep. I've been trying to reach out to this family, but I feel awkward." Craig's family doesn't dispute that he was drunk. They said his medical tests showed a .169 blood alcohol level, more than twice the legal driving limit. What they dispute is that one punch and a fall could have caused his injuries.

Craig was arrested for public intoxication in November 1997 in his front yard after, according to the police report, he was arguing with King about his drinking problem. King said he has also been arrested multiple times for drunken driving, all more than six years ago.

"He's an alcoholic, honestly," King said, but "he was an excellent person. He was an excellent father. He just drank on the weekends." King and Craig have a 4-year-old daughter and Craig has four other children from a previous marriage. His mother said being drunk doesn't justify violence. "Just because a customer is drunk and makes them angry, they should not be allowed to vent that," said Craig's mother Marsha Heath. "They are in the business of selling alcohol to make people drunk. What do they expect, for them to go out of there sober?" Sgt. Mike Cantrell said bouncers, by the nature of their job, often deal with unruly drunks that can become physically aggressive, but they can only strike out in self-defense.

"They're civilians like everyone else. They don't have any special privileges," Cantrell said. "Like anyone else they can defend themselves." McGhee is schedule to be arraigned Dec. 20. Reed said the injuries were the worst he's seen from a fight. "I've been there 27 years and never have had anything like this happen, and we've had some barn-burning fights," he said.



Kungfoolss, Scourge of the theory-based stylists, Most Feared man at Mcdojo.com, and the Preeminent Force in the martial arts political arena

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[SRyuFighter]

I dont think that one punch could do that to somebody. It might but not from just a bouncer. Do you know if he had any martial arts background.

Don't get carried away asshole because I'm gonna give you a fight that you'll never forget!

[Kungfoolss]

I dont think that one punch could do that to somebody. It might but not from just a bouncer. Do you know if he had any martial arts background.

I'm afraid I don't. I suppose the possibility exists, I'm sure such information would come out in a criminal trial.

[SLJ]

Sounds like he gave him a few "stamps" when he was down, bouncers often do that to make sure people stay there.

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”He (Master Bristol) was like a slippery fish. There was no way I could hold on to him.” -- Tomas Shurrman, Judo Expert

[Amir]

Weren't there so can't know what did happen

but the fall could have done all the major damage,
I know several people whom were injured in a simple fall, or even falling on a mat. Falling in such a situation: intoxicated and after a punch, is potentially even more danjerous.


Amir

[Mr. Donkeypenis]

It's possible, but just how much damage was done should be examined by a doctor. Only they can determine for sure.

A.K.A MEAT

[cyberstalker]

Fights are random. I think a lot of us know not to count on the one punch knockout, but it does happen on occasion. Other times, you throw the best punch in your life, make great contact, and he shrugs it off.

This points out an interesting phenomonen that I have seen and heard about a lot. 1. Black belt trains hard 2. Black belt becomes very good 3. Black belt goes to bar and gets very drunk. 4. Black belt gets ass easily kicked by some nobody.

[Freddy]

Its highly probable the guy who punch the guy also broke every bone in his hand? Perhaps a lucky shot at a weak point in the face??? Who knows for sure. If the guy was dead then they could do an autopsy. Other than that its speculative what happened.

PEACE!

[Kempocos]

As a bouncer myself I can say just about all bouncers I know are trained is some art. They however get to use the training in real life not a training mat where some level of restraint is always there. So I would not take the attitude " just a nobody bouncer ", rember this is a person who gets paid to confront people who are out of control be it drunk, high, often violent. I believe the fall more than the punch did the damage.

EAT SLEEP TRAIN

[Kungfoolss]

Bouncer won't be prosecuted for fight


By CHRISTINE BEDELL

Thursday December 26, 2002, 10:49:39 PM


Prosecutors won't file charges against a Bakersfield bouncer for his role in a fight last week that left a bar patron in a coma and probably facing permanent brain damage. There is not enough evidence against Erick Michael McGhee, Kern County Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said Thursday. Witnesses are giving too many conflicting stories about what happened between McGhee, an employee of Guthrie's Alley Cat bar, and the injured man, Alan Johnson Craig, she said. And several people say McGhee acted in self-defense, Zimmer said. The District Attorney's Office made the right call, said McGhee's attorney, Kyle Humphrey.Humphrey said he "fully expected" McGhee would not be prosecuted because several witnesses called Craig the aggressor. Craig, 44, was in fair condition and breathing on his own at Kern Medical Center Thursday, hospital spokeswoman Patty Henry said. But Craig's future looks bleak, said his mother, Marsha Heath.

Heath said her son had surgery to relieve pressure in his brain this week. Doctors removed bone from his forehead and the top of his head, she said.Heath said Craig does not recognize anyone and cannot follow any commands. Physicians have said Craig will suffer permanent brain damage but they don't yet know its extent, Heath said. Asked about the decision not to prosecute, Heath said she's never felt great animosity toward McGhee but thinks he's violent and shouldn't be a bouncer. "This was a senseless act and it has to stop," Heath said. Instead of going to prison, she said, McGhee should have to push her son's wheelchair if he ends up in one or teach him how to speak again. McGhee and Craig met up in the early hours of Dec. 14 outside Guthrie's in downtown Bakersfield. McGhee told police he had to punch a drunk and belligerent Craig one time in self-defense and that Craig then fell and hit his head on the pavement. Craig -- 6 feet 3 inches tall with martial-arts training -- told police at the scene he did not want to press charges.

He was taken to KMC and while there, his brain swelled and he lost consciousness. McGhee was arrested on charges of felony battery causing great bodily harm. Zimmer said the D.A.'s office still could file charges if stronger evidence against him comes to light. A friend of McGhee's referred calls to Humphrey.Heath said two people must have attacked her son given the extent of his injuries. Humphrey said a single punch to the face followed by Craig's hitting of his head is a plausible explanation. Craig's friends admitted he was drunk the night he was hurt, but he was not a "drunken Godzilla," Heath said, though she conceded her son has a problem with alcohol. Instead of harming Craig, she said, employees should have called the police. She said her son is a sweet man who takes good care of his family and friends and has been unfairly portrayed in the media. Guthrie's owner Ken Reed, meanwhile, said McGhee continues to be "torn up" by what happened but that he acted appropriately given Craig's belligerence. His bouncers don't throw punches unless they've already taken one or believe they are about to, Reed said. "This was just a freaky accident," Reed said. He said he and McGhee are "still hoping and praying Alan Craig has a full and speedy recovery."

Kungfoolss, Scourge of the theory-based stylists, Most Feared man at Mcdojo.com, and the Preeminent Force in the martial arts political arena

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