Nightclub's security video given to police

McCLURE, Ill. -- A stabbing and shooting incident at the Hush Puppy Saloon in McClure in the early hours of New Year's Eve didn't deter customers from returning to the popular nightclub, said owner Jamie Thompson.

Thompson cited the unusual circumstances surrounding the incident and the club's visible security as the reasons people weren't afraid to return.

"We had a lot of people on New Year's Eve," he said. "I thought I'd lose a few employees over it, but they're still here."

The Alexander County Sheriff's Department said Tyler J. Baine, 37, of Anna, Ill., turned himself into authorities Tuesday over the incident in which he allegedly stabbed a patron and shot a club security guard. Baine is charged with felony aggravated battery with a firearm and felony aggravated battery. He is in custody in the Tri-County Detention Center in Ullin on a $100,000 bond.

One of the club's 32 surveillance cameras recorded the incident and the tape was turned over to police, Thompson said.

Thompson described the contents of the video and a discussion he had with the stabbing victim and police, calling the alleged attack by Baine a personal matter, not a random act of violence.

Surveillance tapes showed Baine and the victim in the club earlier in the evening where they were seen having an animated discussion, Thompson said.

Thompson said that with the metal detectors at the front door, a doorman and heavy security throughout the club, Baine could not have entered with weapons, which are prohibited in the club. When the club closed at 4 a.m., Thompson said, Baine could have entered through the exit with concealed weapons undetected due to the crowd of people leaving.

Thompson said the surveillance tape shows the patron being stabbed in the back with a knife. When the victim cried out, four or five of the club's security guards rushed Baine and took him to the ground. Thompson said the tape shows Baine shooting a guard with a gun through his jacket pocket. Another round went into the ceiling.

At that point people scattered, allowing Baine to exit the building, Thompson said.

An Army medic and a paramedic who were at the club tended to the guard, who was shot in the upper thigh and above the ankle, until McClure-East Cape Fire District and Alexander County Sheriff's Department arrived, Thompson said.

While the injured customer declined transport to a hospital, the guard was rushed to Saint Francis Medical Center, where Thompson said he is doing well but will require physical therapy before he can return to work.

Thompson, who also owns a nightclub in the Chicago area, said it is the first time in his seven years as a club owner that anything like this has occurred in his establishments.

"It can happen anywhere," he said of the incident. "We're the safest club in Missouri and Illinois."

Before the Hush Puppy opened for business a year and nine months ago, Thompson said, the building was outfitted with the surveillance system inside the building and in the parking lot. The cameras are purposely visible to patrons, Thompson said, to deter crime as well as to provide customers with a sense of safety.

The cameras catch "everything in our building at any time," he said. "We want everyone to know they're there."

The building's entrance is outfitted with a stationary metal detector and a security guard. Thompson said measures will be taken to secure the exit at all times.

Security personnel are stationed at various posts throughout the club. One guard moves through the 12,000-square-foot building and parking lot. Security personnel are instructed to talk people out of a fight rather than becoming physically aggressive themselves.

"We look for guys who are good talkers," Thompson said. "They can usually talk people down."

The club can have as many as 300 people on weekends and up to 150 during the week, he said. Because Missouri bars close earlier than Hush Puppy's 4 a.m. weekend time, it is a popular destination for Cape Girardeau nightclubbers who want to continue their evening.

Thompson has a strict policy to not serve alcohol to intoxicated customers and offers a free shuttle service to Cape Girardeau and in Illinois to his patrons who have had too much to drink. The service is offered around the clock and will not only take people home, but pick them up as well.

Thompson considers this another security measure, as well as a way to prevent alcohol-related wrecks and fatalities.

On weekends, Thompson said upward of 100 people take advantage of the service.

"We go out of our way to make our place the safest place possible," he said. "I haven't been to a place yet with the security we got."

carel@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127