One injured in fight between current, former Pagans at Hooters
Delaware On Line Jun. 6, 2013
The melee at the Hooters near New Castle Wednesday night was between current and former Pagans Motorcycle Club members and sent one person to the hospital with deep facial cuts.
About 50 people brawled outside the restaurant along U.S. 13, where more than 100 motorcycles were parked in the lot. The fight was between Pagans and former club members who left the group recently over differences, a source told The News Journal today.
More than 30 police vehicles from at least three agencies responded to the Hooters’ Bike Night shortly after 8:30 p.m., with the emergency lights of their cruisers lighting up the area.
By late today, police had made no arrests.
State police Cpl. John Day did not release information on what caused the fight. But according to a man involved in the brawl, the incident occurred when a current member of the Pagans sucker punched a former member.
“It got pretty out of hand,” said the man, who did not want to be identified.
The source said tensions were high since a large number of men parted ways with the motorcycle club last month. It erupted in the parking lot Wednesday.
Current Pagans and their associates were at the Hooters, as were about 35 former club members, according to the source. The man said he and his friends were there to enjoy the evening and added that the Pagans usually hang out at a Claymont pub.
“We’d been there quite a while,” he said.
Then one of the Pagans punched a former member in the face, which started the free-for-all. A former Pagan was cut when he was hit with a bottle and had to get 11 stitches and 10 staples.
Police confirmed one man with cuts to his face was treated and released at Christiana Hospital.
“It got pretty intense,” the man said.
Off-duty troopers were already at the restaurant for security detail when the first punch was thrown, Day said. Additional troopers, as well as Wilmington and New Castle County police, responded to disperse the crowd, he added.
While investigators claimed not to know the “affiliation” of those involved in the fight, Day confirmed initial calls to police reported Pagans and Thunderguards fighting.
But at least two people who said they were at Hooters when the fight went down were adamant that no Thunderguards – a black motorcycle group – were there.
Stoney Woods, of New Castle, said he saw the fight start.
“I was standing right there when it broke out,” said Woods, who is not part of either group.
Some of those fighting were Pagans, he said. “The Pagans had their colors on, but the others didn’t have nothing. It was Pagans and other guys.”
Woods said he didn’t stick around to see the fight end.
“I got on my bike and left,” he said.
A Hooters employee declined to comment about the fight, referring questions to company officials, who had not responded to requests for comment.
Contact Esteban Parra at 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com or robin brown at 324-2856 orrbrown@delawareonline.com. Reporter Matthew Albright contributed to this story.
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