News

January 2, 2010

Alleged assault in N.J. detailed

Stillwater man: Anti-gay comment was made before he was beat up, then run over by a Jeep outside bar.

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer
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A Columbia County man said an anti-gay remark was uttered before he was assaulted and run over outside a New Jersey bar a week ago, according to a televised report.

Jesse Allard, 23, of Stillwater, suffered arm and leg injuries and was hospitalized in Paterson after the alleged assault on Dec. 26.

In an interview Wednesday on WWOR-TV, Secaucus, N.J., Allard said he went to the Trackside Bar & Grill in Butler, to celebrate his birthday. Inside he complimented a patron on the coat he was wearing and that led to the alleged assault.

“He called me a fag and he told me don’t ever touch him again,” Allard told television reporter Mike Gilliam, who interviewed him in a hospital bed. “So I was just like, ‘Well, I’m sorry I’m just complimenting your coat,’ ” Allard said.

When asked by Gilliam if Allard was “trying to come on” to the patron, Allard responded, “No.”

Allard said a man who he believed was the bar owner wanted him out and dragged him from the establishment to a nearby parking lot, according to the report.

In the lot the man held Allard’s arms while another man punched Allard in the face. Someone took Allard’s cell phone, smashed it and threw it away, according to the report.

A woman who answered the phone at the bar Friday night said the owner was not available.

After the alleged assault, according to the report, Allard sought help from a motorist and asked the driver to call police. He said he heard someone say the driver of the car was a police officer. According to the report, Allard said the driver said he was not on duty and drove off.

“As I was getting up, somebody yelled, ‘You better look out behind you.’ And I turned around and there was the Jeep that hit me wasn’t even six feet from me and he hit the gas,” Allard told the reporter.

A dispatcher at the Butler Police Department said the chief was not available and referred questions to the public information officer, who was unavailable until Monday.

Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, can be contacted at 570 829-7237.

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