Club Owner Bats Bystander

A Decatur, Ala., nightclub owner accidentally struck a bystander with a baseball bat after a confrontation with the singer of an unidentified local band, according to police.

Jeffrey Ken Hitt, owner of the New Frontier nightclub, ended the March 14th argument with an errant swing of the bat, police said. It wasn’t Hitt’s first run-in with police; the owner had been arrested in an unrelated incident a month earlier.

Things got dangerous after the singer punched Hitt in the face during an argument, according to The Decatur Daily.

Hitt and the singer then took things outside. Hitt told police he pulled out the baseball bat in case the rest of the band ambushed him, leaving him outnumbered. The brouhaha reportedly cleared the club.

A witness – reportedly with the band – was struck by the bat when he tried to break up the fight, according to the paper. No injuries were reported and police said he doesn’t intend to press charges.

The singer left the scene before police intervened, but the focus had already shifted to the batted bystander.

This isn’t the first time Hitt has been in trouble at the New Frontier, which is also known as the Rum Jungle.

In February, he was arrested by Alabama Beverage Control agents and charged with obstructing government operation, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest during an inspection of his club.

The venue was cited for allowing criminal disorderly conduct and for not having the person in charge listed on a sign, the Decatur Daily said.