Video shows man being dragged from Bourbon Street bar who would later be robbed

Graphic content: Man dragged from Bourbon St. bar

Video shows two people dragging a man March 16 from the Bourbon Street bar Beerfest and attempting to put him into the back of a garbage truck. New Orleans police say the man would later be the victim of a robbery they're investigating.

Police have no record of Beerfest calling them to report any problems at the bar, even though the video shows a man being dragged through the bar's front entrance and two people trying to put the man into the garbage truck. There is no indication that anyone in the bar tried to stop them, although a witness said that onlookers urged the men to stop when they tried to put the unconscious man into the garbage truck.

The video will add to the legal problems for Beerfest, which was closed in February for 60 days and ordered to pay a $3,500 fine after officials found that the owners had illegally added a door inside to the adjoining strip club. The door was used to access the upper floors of Beerfest, where strippers and customers used private rooms. The city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board found Beerfest's actions constituted an illegal expansion of a strip club.

The French Quarter bar has remained open despite the 60-day suspension. The bar's owner, identified during an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board hearing as Guy Olano Jr., is appealing the decision and asking a judge to stay the suspension while the case is appealed.

Craig Belden, a spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu, said the city entered into an agreement that allowed the bar to remain open during the appeal, given that "such stays are routinely granted by the courts."

A witness to the incident in the video said in an interview that the man being dragged out of the bar was extremely intoxicated and had been involved in numerous altercations at the bar, including with the bar's bouncer. The man continued to return to the bar, and each time he would fight with someone, the witness said.

When the man fell unconscious, a man decided to drag him out of the bar. With the help of a second man, they tried to load him into the garbage truck, but multiple people asked them to stop because they feared he would be killed when the compactor was turned on, the witness said.

The witness declined to be named because he believes being identified could affect his employment in the French Quarter.

Police said the events in the video occurred before the man was robbed. The victim was standing on Bourbon Street talking to a stranger near Beerfest when police said he was punched from behind. One man took his wallet and handed it off to a second man, according to NOPD.

Two French Quarter robbery suspects are shown in a photograph released Saturday by the New Orleans Police Department.


NOPD spokesman Beau Tidwell said police later learned through surveillance video that there were several altercations in the area before the robbery. The robbery itself was spotted by technicians in the city's real-time crime monitoring center, but the victim had been taken to a hospital by the time police arrived. They were able to find the victim at the hospital and interview him. The extent of his injuries was not available.

Belden said that "based on video evidence, new ABO proceedings will begin in addition to those currently pending" against Beerfest.

Police did not indicate that they were investigating the two men who had earlier dragged the victim out of Beerfest.

Police still do not know the identity of the two men who committed the robbery. Anyone with information about the crime should call NOPD 8th District detectives at 504.658.6080 or Crimestoppers Inc. 504.822.1111 or 877.903.7867.

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