A security guard was hospitalized after a "verbal argument" devolved into an all-out brawl at a North Carolina cocktail bar, with nine of 20 participants facing a slew of criminal charges, police said.
Winston-Salem Police said the fight erupted around 1:30 a.m. at the Thirsty Pallet on Sept. 23, when two patrons began arguing and throwing drinks.
In chaotic footage captured on video by one patron, two men can be seen hailing down blows on another man's head. The bouncer then intervenes - while one man pulls his sweatshirt over the bouncer's head, another man and woman throw a flurry of punches and kicks.
Chairs and drinks are thrown; the woman behind the bar can be seen throwing her hands up and yelling at the roiling mass of patrons.
Good Samaritan bargoers and another security guard pull the assailants off the bouncer under siege. Then, a man who appears to be an employee uses a bar stool to push agitated customers out of the establishment.
Police said in one of several press releases that the security guard was hit with "several" chairs in the upset, and was hospitalized after the incident.
Thirst Pallet owner Eric Zyglis wrote in a Facebook post that a bouncer, known as "Big Teddy Bear," came back to work the day after his hospitalization.
"I'm thankful my staff is safe and recovering," Zyglis wrote on Sept. 25. "Our bouncer... has the biggest heart of anyone. This guy came back into work the next day, against us trying to give him a day off; because as he said 'we stand for something bigger, this isn't going to deter me from doing my job. I care too much about our staff and customers to miss a day.' That right there is who we are."
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Zyglis told local outlet WFMY that "one patron threw a drink at another patron, then the craziness ensued."
Winston-Salem Police Public Information Officer Annie Sims told Fox News Digital that police reviewed the bar's security footage and "identified the individuals that were illegally acting and harming someone and then we sought warrants based on that information."
At least one patron came behind the bar and was initially mistaken by police as an employee, Zyglis told the local outlet.
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Dwight Alexander Reid, 45, and Melvin David Young, 26, are both still wanted by the department as of Monday, Sims said. Reid faces charges of misdemeanor larceny, while Young faces misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, misdemeanor simple assault and misdemeanor second-degree trespassing charges.
Of those taken into custody following the incident, 22-year-old Nyasia Wesley and 28-year-old Kendrell Smith both face charges of simple assault and second-degree trespassing. Shakella Dobson, 33, was arrested for simple assault, second-degree trespassing and misdemeanor communicating threats.
Miles McCollum, 25, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault and second degree trespassing. Cynthia Tart, 23, was taken into custody on simple assault, communicating threats and second-degree trespassing. Gerry Walters Jr. 34 - who filmed the video of the incident circulating on social media - faces charges of larceny and possession of stolen goods. Citing an ongoing investigation, Sims did not clarify what those facing larceny charges stole in the confusion.
Fosythm County District Attorney Jim O'Neil told Law and Crime that, while he could not comment on events of the raucous evening, his office's "job would not be completed unless the last two have been arrested and successfully prosecuted."
