Police Say College Students Assaulted By South Beach Club Bouncers
Three visiting college students said they were beaten by bouncers after refusing to pay their bill at a South Beach nightclub.
Eight Club Mansion bouncers were charged with aggravated battery for allegedly beating up three spring breakers over a bar tab. Jex Fontaine, Matthew Pichardo, Manuel Gaston, Anthony Batts, Corey Robinson, Diego Bustos, Eric DaSilva and Juan Pagan-Soto were arrested.
The reported victims from the University of Delaware are planning to take legal action against the club.
“They wanted to teach them sort of a lesson of some kind,” Bo Dennis, the victims’ attorney, said.
Dennis represents the three victims: John Merryman, Sean Sweeney and Trevor Costello.
“I felt like I was completely powerless over my life,” Merryman said. “All of a sudden I feel a punch come to the side of my face and blood just exploded all over the walls.”
The students from Delaware said they were at Mansion on Thursday night and entered the VIP room, purchasing a required bottle of alcohol. After about two hours, Dennis said, a waitress told the men they had to leave VIP to allow in famous patrons.
According to Dennis, the men were told their tab was $700. When they asked to see the bill, the waitress refused and a bouncer was sent over. Eventually, the group was asked to go into an office in the back of the club. Dennis said, when they again refused to pay without seeing a written copy of the bill, several bouncers entered the office and began to beat them.
“They began to beat on the three boys, particularly John Merryman,” Dennis said. “Apparently John had worked there prior.”
“They’re like, ‘You’re going to pay the tab. You’re going to pay the tab,’” Merryman said. “We’re like, ‘We want to see the receipt.’”
Merryman described some of what happened.
“They grabbed Sean by his throat, slammed him down to the ground and took him to a back hallway until he was passed out unconscious,” Merryman said. “They kept choking him. They kicked him. Trevor tried to stand up off the couch and that’s when they side kicked him right in the side of the face.”
The victims said, after a while, they agreed to pay the $700 with a credit card. They said they were told Costello and Sweeney could leave, but the bouncers said they weren’t through with Merryman.
“He paid the bill and then continued to get beaten,” Sweeney said. “They continued to assault us after we paid the bill.”
When the two refused to leave without their friend, they said, they received further beatings.
“I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life,” Sweeney said.
Merryman was able to push past the bouncers and out a back door, Dennis said, where he met Miami Beach police officers.
The officers entered the club and arrested the group of bouncers. The victims were treated for their injuries at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
“I know that John Merryman has a pretty severe laceration to his cheekbone,” Dennis said. “They all have black eyes and bruised ribs and things like that.”
The Opium Group, which owns Mansion, released a statement on the incident.
“We are continuing to work closely with the police regarding these unsubstantiated claims and cannot comment further as the police have not concluded their investigation,” Vanessa Menkis of the Opium Group said.
Dennis said the actions from Mansion employees shine a negative light on tourism in South Beach.
“It sends a bad message to the entire country for anybody that’s coming to South Florida,” he said. “They’re basically put on notice that this could happen to them.”
The victims have since returned to Delaware. Their attorneys plan to file suit against the club later in the week.
Miami Beach police said they have surveillance video of the entire brawl, but they’re keeping it as evidence as they continue their investigation.