Bay City, MI (March 7, 2018) BTN — In a quiet courtroom, a
prosecutor played video footage of a bar patron being punched by another
customer, then stomped by two men. According to witnesses, the beatdown was
perpetrated by two bikers who were vexed over a photo the assaulted man had
reportedly taken.
And to hear the victim tell it, he hadn't even taken a photo
in the first place.
Such was the testimony during the March 6 preliminary
examination of Eric J. Kerkau, 46, and Arthur R. Miller, 33, both charged with
a 10-year felony count of assault with intent to cause great bodily harm.
Eric Kerkau (L) and Arthur Miller (R)
Ashley Schwartz, the first witness called by Bay County
Assistant Prosecutor Thomas, testified she had been bartending at the Whyte
Goose Inn, 108 State St., the early morning of Dec. 27. About 1 a.m., an
argument broke out between Scott M. Peterson, 49, and Kerkau and Miller regarding
a photo Peterson had supposedly taken, Schwartz said.
"One gentlemen stood up, took his coat off, and tried
to initiate a fight," Schwartz said, identifying this man as Miller.
"I tried to stop it. The gentlemen that tried to initiate a fight tried to
get Scott to come outside and fight him, but he would not go. The other
gentleman (Kerkau) who was still in the bar ... took a few steps back and just
sucker-punched (Peterson). It just proceeded from there."
Schwartz said Miller came back inside and joined Kerkau in
punching and kicking Peterson.
"There was so much chaos at the time, it was hard to
tell how many times he was hit," she said. As the assault occurred,
Schwartz called 911.
Cross-examined by defense attorneys Matthew Boucher and
Brian Jean, Schwartz said Peterson had been sitting at the bar with his
girlfriend, playing with his phone. She didn't notice if he had taken a photo
of Kerkau or Miller or not, she said.
During the dispute with Peterson, Miller had made comments
about being "black and white" and that "nobody needs to have any
black and white on their phones," Schwartz said.
Jean asked Schwartz why she told Bay County Central Dispatch
that Peterson was being assaulted by members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
She replied that she wanted responding police to be aware of who the assailants
were in case they had weapons on them.
"It's just from working in bars and experiences with
other fights with different biker groups, it's common for some of them to have
weapons," Schwartz said.
Called to the stand after Schwartz, Peterson said he and his
girlfriend had gone to the Whyte Goose after having dinner on Midland Street
and a drink at Stables Martini & Cigar Bar, 804 E. Midland St. They arrived
at the Whyte Goose between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, he said. He said he did not
know Kerkau or Miller.
Miller and Kerkau were already at the Whyte Goose when
Peterson arrived, he said. He wasn't there long before Miller and Kerkau
confronted him, he said.
"They were accusing me of having pictures of them on my
phone," he said. "Miller was trying to get me to come outside with
him. I didn't know what the heck they were talking about. I refused to go
outside with him."
Peterson denied having any photos of Miller or Kerkau on his
phone.
Peterson and his girlfriend sat at the bar, with Kerkau
sitting nearby. A short while later, Kerkau again accused Peterson of having
photos of him on his phone, he said.
"Before I knew it, I got blasted in the back of the
head by Eric," Peterson said. "He hit me once that I know of. I
turned around towards him and then I got clocked in the side of the head by
Arthur. Then we got all tangled up and I went down to the ground and they were
hitting me and kicking me. I was just trying to cover up at that point."
Peterson sustained injuries to his shoulder, knee and ribs.
He suffered a slightly detached retina in his right eye, which has required two
laser surgeries. He also required six staples to mend a wound in the back of
his scalp, he said.
Under cross-examination, Peterson said he had two IPA beers
with dinner, one at Stables, and half of one at the Whyte Goose. He said he was
not feeling intoxicated.
Asked by Jean if he had seen Kerkau and Miller at Stables,
Peterson said he hadn't noticed them there. He added he had left Stables due to
police arriving there to deal with some issue, and that he's not a fan of
police.
Jean then asked him about his prior convictions on larceny-related
charges and if he considers himself an honest man. Peterson replied that he
does consider himself honest.
Since the Whyte Goose incident, Peterson in January was
charged with a misdemeanor count of domestic violence.
Jean asked him to describe the injuries he sustained.
"Senseless and severe," Peterson replied.
"It's ridiculous what happened, I'll tell you that."
Bay City Public Safety Officer Todd Armstrong testified that
when he arrived at the bar, Peterson was lying on the floor. In the course of
his investigation, Armstrong obtained the bar's surveillance camera footage of
the incident, which Assistant Prosecutor Hausmann played in the hearing.
The silent footage shows Peterson standing at the bar, only
to punched by another man. The first assailant is then joined by another man
and the pair proceed to beat Peterson as other patrons try breaking up the
assault.
After the video ended, Hausmann asked Armstrong what it
means to him when a man describes himself as "black and white." The
officer replied that based on his training and experience, he would assume that
man would be associated with the Outlaws.
Armstrong added he recovered a necklace at scene bearing a
Black Pistons medallion. The Black Pistons is a support club of the Outlaws. Armstrong
added that Kerkau's Facebook page featured references to his "black and
white brothers."
Questioned by the defense, Armstrong said he was unaware if
police searched Peterson's phone to see if he had or had not taken photos of
Miller or Kerkau.
After Armstrong testified, Hausmann asked Bay County
District Judge Timothy J. Kelly to allow him to add a 20-year charge of gang
membership to each defendant's case. Boucher and Jean objected to this and
Kelly ended up siding with them.
Kelly did, however, bind both men's cases over to Circuit
Court for trial. Kerkau and Miller are free on bond.
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club was established in 1935 in
McCook, Illinois. Since then, it has expanded to 28 countries. It has four
Michigan chapters, including one in Bay City. In 2006, five members of the Bay
City chapter were involved in a shootout with the Hell's Angels in South
Dakota.
Through its website, the club is adamant that it is not a
criminal organization.
"We may not live by the rules of society, but we do
live by its laws," the site states.
SOURCE: MLive
