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Little Rock nightclub to be fined $500 for admitting McFadden Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A Little Rock nightclub that admitted former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden although he was under 21 will be fined $500 and placed on probation for a year but will not have its liquor license suspended, state regulators said Tuesday. Also Tuesday, a bouncer at the club who was hit during an altercation involving the Heisman Trophy runner-up said he has not decided whether to pursue criminal or civil action in connection with the incident. The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division was scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday on the Jan. 10 incident that occurred at Ernie Biggs piano bar, but the club agreed Tuesday morning to accept a fine and probation without a hearing, ABC Director Michael Langley said. "They came forward and admitted, 'Hey, we did this, we're sorry, and we'll accept whatever punishment,'" he said. The agreement will be submitted to the ABC board for approval on March 19. According to a Little Rock police report, a doorman turned the 20-year-old McFadden away from the piano bar but later let him in so he could meet with friends who were already inside. Assistant manager Justin Nugent told police he instructed the doorman to admit McFadden. Club employees told police they did not see McFadden served any alcoholic beverages. Police later were called to the club in response to an altercation involving several people. An officer briefly handcuffed McFadden because he was "agitated and was provoking aggressive behavior inciting the incident," according to the report. No one was arrested in the incident. No one other than McFadden was handcuffed. A bouncer, 32-year-old Brant Hankins of North Little Rock, received a bloody nose but declined to be transported by ambulance from the scene. Police said they told Hankins he could obtain an arrest warrant from the prosecuting attorney's office. The police report described the assault on Hankins as a third-degree battery. Hankins said Tuesday he had not sought a warrant but was still considering his options. "I haven't decided yet," he said. "I'm still kind of caught on the fence. ... I'm supposed to meet with my lawyer tomorrow and see what direction he wants to go." Hankins declined to say whether McFadden hit him during the altercation. A club employee told police he saw several people, including McFadden, hit Hankins. Langley said Ernie Biggs will be fined the maximum penalty of $500 for admitting a minor into a private club that does not serve food. Under state law, only private clubs that serve food can admit minors. Langley said the usual fine for a club that does not have a history of violations - and Ernie Biggs does not - is $250, but he believed the maximum fine was appropriate in this case because the people who admitted McFadden knew he was a minor. "To know that they're under 21 and still allow them into the club, that was kind of a total disregard for our rules and regulations that we're not going to accept," he said. If the club commits a similar violation in the next year, suspension of its private club license is likely, Langley said. A second allegation, that the altercation was a violation of the "good neighbor" provision in state liquor laws, was dropped. McFadden's mother, Mini Muhammad, told reporters in January that McFadden was trying to protect his younger brother, Daryl, who she said had been jumped by someone at the club. Langley said Tuesday it was not clear whether Daryl McFadden was present. The police report identifies 35-year-old Bilal Muhammad, older brother of Darren McFadden, as one of the people involved in the altercation but does not mention McFadden's younger brother. "If there had been a hearing, we would have taken testimony on who was there," Langley said. McFadden also was involved in a fight outside another Little Rock nightclub in the summer of 2006. He received a severe toe injury in that incident. McFadden announced a few days after the incident at Ernie Biggs that he would forego his senior season at Arkansas and enter the NFL draft. The draft is scheduled for April 26-27. |
