Report: Fans Sue Alrosa Villa Nightclub Over DIMEBAG Shooting

December 9, 2006

The Associated Press has issued the following report:

Two rock fans who witnessed a fatal nightclub shooting spree two years ago have filed a lawsuit against the club's owners, saying the club provided inadequate security.

Jerry and Karen Wessler suffer severe and permanent emotional injuries, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Nathan Gale, a former Marine, rushed the stage at the Alrosa Villa on Dec. 8, 2004, killing renowned heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, along with three others who tried to intervene.

Gale avoided club security guards at the front entrance by climbing a fence and entering a side door.

Gale's actions were reasonably foreseeable, said Ronald Maurer, an attorney for the Wesslers. He did not elaborate.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from club owners Rick and John Cautela. A message seeking comment was left Saturday at the club.

Last year, Vincent Abbott, who was the guitarist's brother and drummer, also sued the club alleging inadequate security. He was joined in the lawsuit by plaintiffs Chris Paluska, the band's tour manager, and John Brooks, a drum technician.

Gale was still shooting and had a hostage in his arms when Columbus police officer James Niggemeyer killed him with a shotgun blast. A Franklin County jury cleared Niggemeyer of wrongdoing.

Abbott was a well-known member of the Grammy-nominated band PANTERA. He attended Arlington High School and lived in nearby Dalworthington Gardens.

DAMAGEPLAN, the band playing on the night of the shooting spree, formed after PANTERA broke up.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).