Club 98 Owner Acquitted in Bar Melee

The owner of a once-popular bar in Eastpoint has been acquitted of charges stemming from a Nov. 2007 brawl, but the business remains closed.

The owners say sloppy police work led to an unfair prosecution and cost them their business.

Jarrett Woolever, owner and manager of Club 98, together with his brother, Jay, cobbled together over the last 15 years a group of rental properties and small businesses in the county, beginning with Pearl Laundry in Eastpoint and then expanding to Club 98 and a nearby liquor store.

But, the brothers say, all that came crashing down Nov. 4, 2007, when a fight broke out in the bar that ultimately led to sheriff's deputies arresting six individuals.

Jarrett Woolever was arrested at the scene for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a felony. This felony charge meant that until such time as the matter was resolved, he could not work at the club he managed, and thus was forced to close it.

Also arrested at the scene for misdemeanors were Robert C. Hartsfield, 46, of Tallahassee, for DUI; James R. Cannon, 31, of Graceville, for battery; Mark A. Yowell, 33, of Eastpoint, for public affray and disorderly intoxication, and James A. Golden, 43, of Eastpoint, for public affray and disorderly intoxication.

The following day, Casey J. Richards, 19, of Eastpoint, was arrested for battery and criminal mischief, also misdemeanors.

On Jan. 3, Assistant State Attorney Jeremy Mutz reduced the charges against Woolever to public affray and culpable negligence, both misdemeanors. But by then the financial damage to the business had been done.

At the Sept. 23 trial, the jury acquitted Woolever after less than 15 minutes of deliberation.

Security video presents images of what happened

Two days later, a handful of members of the local media and sheriff candidates Bruce Barnes and Skip Shiver met with Jarrett Woolever, formerly of Eastpoint and St. George Island, to discuss his acquittal and to view a pair of security videotapes recorded the night of the fight.

Woolever came directly from his lawyer's office to the interview and left the state immediately afterwards. He said he wished for his whereabouts to remain secret because he fears reprisals.

The original charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon was based on a claim levied by Jill Shiver, of Eastpoint, that Woolever hit her with a chair during the fray. On the video, a chair is seen to fly across the room, but it does not appear to hit Shiver, who can be seen standing by the bar as it passes.

Apalachicola native Ryan O'Neal, who was at the time of the fight a sheriff's deputy in Pasco County, witnessed the fight. O'Neal, now employed as an officer with the Tampa Police Department, is visible in one of the security videos watching the chair Woolever tossed fly by.

In a telephone interview, O'Neal said he tried to tell Deputy Alan Ham that Shiver was not hit by the chair the evening of the dispute.

"He listened to me for maybe 15 seconds. I tried to tell him that she had been struck in the jaw by an unknown white male. He didn't mean to strike her. She was in the group of people beating Jarrett and got hit," said O'Neal. "The sheriff's department never took my statement and later said it was because I was intoxicated."

O'Neal denied being intoxicated and said he consumed one-quarter of a glass of vodka and cranberry juice before the fight broke out. He said he is well-known to many of the police officers who arrived at the bar that evening, and attended school with some of them.

O'Neal said that, in his opinion, the case was handled in a "very unprofessional manner.

"They should have secured the situation and tried to talk to people and taken written statements. They might also have cleared the parking lot of bystanders," he said. "Instead they just stood around."

Deputy's report sees plenty of drunk and disorderly

Jarrett Woolever said that, although there were numerous deputies' cars in the parking lot and one Florida Highway Patrol vehicle, Officers Andy Pace and Ham were the ones actively involved in the initial investigation and his arrest.

According to Pace's arrest report, the incident took place at 1:40 a.m. Pace wrote that Yowell was being escorted by staff from the bar when he went back inside and got into a verbal dispute with Woolever.

"Woolever got in Yowell's face and headbutted him," wrote Pace. "Yowell pushed Woolever down in retaliation. Woolever pulled his pepper spray in an effort to spray Yowell."

Pace wrote that Golden and Randy Shiver took Woolever's pepper so as to prevent him from spraying Yowell, and that Woolever then "picked up a bar stool and threw it, hitting Jill Shiver on the chin.

"Randy Shiver bent over to check on his wife and James Cannon punched (Randy) Shiver in the face several times, resulting in injuries to his eyes and nose," Pace wrote.

Woolever and his brother said written statements were not taken from the bouncer and other bar employees on the night of the arrests. "The bouncer was never questioned," Jay Woolever said. "They pointed a Taser at him and told him to shut up."

Jarrett Woolever said written statements were taken from persons who were drinking the night of the fight, including Jill Shiver and Yowell. The only employee of Club 98 who was interviewed, Sonja Chapman, the bartender, was deposed several hours after the fray.

Woolever maintains the fight was actually a preplanned attack. At two points in the security video, participants in the fray appear to be exchanging hand signals. He said he was first grabbed by two attackers, pushed to the ground and then followed, beaten and kicked as he tried to crawl away. At one point in the video, an unknown bystander attempts to come to his defense. He said that after escaping from the fight, he crawled into a corner and hurled the chair attempting to discourage his attackers.

O'Neal agreed with this statement but said the chair hit no one. "It would have hit me before it hit her (Shiver), I was standing in between her and Jarrett," he said.

Woolever said that after police arrived, he walked outside and found Ham arresting Cannon, who had come to Woolever's aid in the fight

"I tried to tell Ham he was arresting the wrong person and he turned on me and pushed me with both hands back into a crowd of people saying, "I'm tired of it Jarrett," said Woolever.

O'Neal said after he discovered while surfing the Internet that Woolever had been charged with a crime, he called Mutz and told him what he witnessed the night of the fight, but was never deposed except by Woolever's attorney. He said he was sworn in and testified over the phone at the trial.

Woolever, prosecutor look over security video

The Woolever brothers say the security video was viewed by a sergeant and lieutenant the night of the fight. Jarrett Woolever and Mutz viewed the tape together, at the bar the afternoon of Nov. 6. Woolever said at that time Mutz said hat he would recommend not pursuing prosecution.

In a telephone interview, Mutz said that on Nov. 6, he told Woolever he did not plan to file felony charges but never promised not to file charges of any kind.

"At that meeting, he said he was OK with not filing charges against the other people involved if he didn't get charged," said Mutz. "I want it to be understood that six people were charged and prosecuted. Everybody but Jarrett was convicted and sentenced.

"When we decided to charge Jarrett, we believed we had two and possibly four witnesses who would corroborate Jill Shiver's statement. There were also a couple of photographs of Shiver's injuries shot at the scene that backed up her statement," said Mutz. "I had an extended telephone conversation with O'Neal but I believe he was intoxicated at the time of the fight and I did not believe he was in the best position to see everything that went on."

Mutz said only one of the witnesses supporting Jill Shiver ultimately agreed to testify and that in the end that witness did not support Jill Shiver's statement. He said the photographs disappeared and that the two officers who took them no longer work for the Sheriff's Department.

"The police report could have been more thorough. There was one main witness for sure that, if she had come to court and cooperated, it would have helped. The other witness, I think, had credibility issues," Mutz said.

The Woolever brothers are not sure why Jarrett may have been by the attack.

"Maybe people were jealous because we came in here with nothing and built something," said Jay. "Whatever the reason, basically they took down a 15-year-old business and two people who paid their taxes and brought jobs to the community. They won."

Jarrett Woolever said he twice filed complaints related to the fight. He said he filed a complaint with Deputy Ginger Creamer in January which accused Yowell, Golden and Nowling of battery, and Randy Shiver of aggravated battery.

On Sept. 26, following his acquittal, he filed complaints with Lt. Robert Shiver accusing Yowell and Golden of battery, and accusing Jill Shiver of perjury and lying to law enforcement.

"I have made my criminal charges twice. These people are on video with hands on me. There is no question that they committed a crime and the state's attorney doesn't seem to want to press charges," said Woolever.

Mutz said he was aware Woolever had spoken to Lt. Shiver about the complaints but has yet to receive any formal paperwork and does not believe the forms had been completed. He said that when the original charges were brought against Yowell, Golden, Nowling and Randy Shiver following the fight; Woolever was subpoenaed for their court date, but did not appear.