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(From KATU online news)
Good call, in my opinion.
Max


LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) – A Longview man who pulled a gun on bouncers at a local bar has been found not guilty of second-degree assault.

A jury determined that 29-year-old Brian Adam Barnd-Spjut acted in self-defense on the night of March 28.

A security video showed bouncers from Kesler's Bar and Grill hauling the man down the bar's hallway toward a back alley. When thrust into an alley, he spun around and pointed the gun at three bouncers and the bar manager.

Barnd-Spjut, who has a concealed weapons permit, said he displayed the gun because he feared the bouncers would beat him up. The jury, apparently, agreed.

The verdict, though passed quietly on Jan. 16, is creating case law that later could impact how and where concealed weapons can be used.
 
I'd think they would still have issue with him even having the gun in a bar. That's supposed to be a no no in WA according to what I have read and seen.
 
Yeah I was under the impression that you could NOT carry concealed in a place that more than 50% of their sales came from alcohol. I think my facts are a little off. But I thought that was very illegal.

And it doesn't say if this guy was drunk/drinking?

This out of any case you would think would have this guy in prison for years.

It's cases like this that scare me about carrying. You just don't know whether your going to be within your rights to protect yourself or your going to get lynched.
 
Personally I think the guy is VERY lucky here considering his situation - he was in a bar and being dragged down the hallway and to a back alley. Is there any other information as to why he was being treated in this manner? I could make a pretty good guess.
 
Yeah I was under the impression that you could NOT carry concealed in a place that more than 50% of their sales came from alcohol. I think my facts are a little off. But I thought that was very illegal.

And it doesn't say if this guy was drunk/drinking?

This out of any case you would think would have this guy in prison for years.

It's cases like this that scare me about carrying. You just don't know whether your going to be within your rights to protect yourself or your going to get lynched.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.300

(1) It is unlawful for any person to enter the following places when he or she knowingly possesses or knowingly has under his or her control a weapon:
...
(d) That portion of an establishment classified by the state liquor control board as off-limits to persons under twenty-one years of age; or
...
 
The son of a retired Longview police captain went on trial Wednesday for allegedly pulling a gun on three bouncers in the alley behind Kesler's Bar and Grill in downtown Longview.

Brian Adam Barnd-Spjut, 29, of Longview, faces four counts of second-degree assault with a firearm.

Deputy prosecutor Amie Hunt said Wednesday that on the night of March 28 Barnd-Spjut refused to pay the bar's $5 cover charge and refused to leave. She said he brandished an semi-automatic handgun at three bouncers and a manager after they forced him down a hallway and pushed him into the bar's back alley.

Hunt said Barnd-Spjut pulled the trigger repeatedly, but the gun wasn't loaded.

Longview defense attorney Duane Crandall, who has a reputation for representing clients in self-defense cases, claims his client knew Kesler's was a dangerous place where bouncers have been known to behave like thugs. Crandall said Barnd-Spjut reluctantly stopped by to visit with manager Brandon Kesler, whose father Leo Kesler Jr., owns the bar. Barnd-Spjut, who has a concealed weapons permit, pulled the gun in self defense, only after he was set upon by the security staff, Crandall said.

In 2006, the Longview Police Department singled out Kesler's, saying officers were repeatedly called there following outbreaks of violence. Crandall said Barnd-Spjut had spoken with his father, retired Longview police Capt. Don Barnd, about how "dangerous" Kesler's was becoming, and the elder Barnd encouraged his son to stay away from the bar.

Barnd-Spjut had heard stories about the bar's bouncers, some of whom weren't officially on the payroll, Crandall said. "Not just the clientele, but the bouncers liked to fight," he told the jury. "The bouncers liked to beat people up."

A series of grainy security videos played in court Wednesday purportedly show Barnd-Spjut talking with bouncers in the nightclub. Barnd-Spjut and two bouncers are walking toward a hallway leading to the back of the club when a scuffle breaks out. Barnd-Spjut appears to stiffen, then bouncers seize him and force him down the hallway. A doorman joins the fray, and a figure identified by prosecutors as Brandon Kesler rushes from the kitchen.

In the alley, Barnd-Spjut appears to whip a handgun from his waistband and brandish it for about three seconds before tucking it away again. The man thought to be Kesler is seen waving him off.

Bouncer Phillip Church testified that Barnd-Spjut aimed the gun at his stomach. Another bouncer, Dominador Pomaikai Daniel, who is 6-foot-five and 340 pounds, said he took cover just inside the club's door. Daniel, who is of Pacific Island descent, said Barnd-Spjut shouted a racial slur as he waved the gun and appeared to be calling for him to come back into the alley.

Barnd-Spjut got back into his truck and rode with his friends and girlfriend over to the Silver Star, another downtown Longview bar. He was arrested at gunpoint in the bar's parking lot a short time later by roughly a dozen police officers from throughout the county who flooded to the scene.

The defense has not disputed that the man brandishing the gun in the video is Barnd-Spjut.

Brandon Kesler was brought to court Wednesday after being arrested Tuesday evening on a material witness warrant. Kesler, who was accompanied by a corrections officer, was shown the security video of the incident, but said he could not verify that he was one of the men in the video.

He also said he can't recall exactly what transpired the night of the incident. Kesler, who said he was testifying against his will, also declined to identify Barnd-Spjut as the man who pointed the gun at him.

"You don't remember a single thing of having a gun pointed at you?" asked Hunt, the deputy prosecutor.

"It was a long time ago," Kesler said, adding that he'd been taking pain killers last March following a car wreck.

A police report said Kesler considered Barnd-Spjut a friend, and Longview police officer Ken Hardy testified Wednesday that the pair spoke on the phone shortly after police arrived at Kesler's.

Hardy said he heard Kesler tell Barnd-Spjut: "You just pulled a gun on me. I almost crapped my pants. I thought I was going to get shot."
 
So he went to a place knowing it was dangerous, he refused to pay a $5 cover???

But then again instead of making him leave through the front door they push him into a back alley?
He speaks with the bar owner, and the bar owner can't recall what happens??

There's a lot of things wrong with this picture. It sounds like barnd-spjut went there ready for trouble and thought he knew the bar owner well enough the rules didn't apply, and then when trouble breaks out the bar owner didn't want too many people looking into his business.

It sounds like both side decided to stay out of the law side of this. If this was any other bar and the guy pulled that he would be in jail.
 
If they had taken him out the front door, like any self respecting place should take a patron they were removing from the premise, I'd think there would be no reason to draw a weapon. But the fact they were taking him out the back would lead me to believe that they were not done and were looking for an area that would have few witnesses for what they were going to do next.

I'll bet that's the reason he drew and the reason he was found in the right.

(without getting into the legality of if he should have been carrying there)


But, to go to a place that's known to be a problem and to go with a gun is pretty stupid, I'd say.
 

Had they charged his with carrying concealed in the bar, he most likely would have been convicted. BUT, the charges were about him threatening the bouncers with the gun, as I understand it, so he walked...and rightly so, (again) in my opinion.

I'm sure he was acting like a jerk, but that's no reason he couldn't justify defending himself when push came to shove...and it sounds like it did.

Max
 
Sounds like a guy looking for trouble and bet he will be back in the news sooner or latter. He should have been charge for carrying where prohibited and would have been found guilty and loss his right to carry consealed. He got off because no one remembers a thing. There is nothing good in this story for most consealed carry people.
 
It seems like he put himself in the situation. And while he definitely has the right to defend himself, it sounds like he went looking for a reason to pull his gun. I agree that the state made a mistake when they did not charge him with carrying concealed in the bar. Too bad too, its guys like this that make the rest of us look like cowboys looking for trouble. In my opinion, he got very lucky. I hope this taught him a lesson.
 
Another version of the story:

http://www.tdn.com/news/local/article_5d562664-0199-11df-a32f-001cc4c002e0.html

Kesler's manager backs defendant at trial over firearm incident
By Tony Lystra / The Daily News | Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010 9:00 pm

The defendant in an assault case testified Thursday that he pulled a gun on four Kesler's Bar and Grill employees in downtown Longview last year because he feared for his safety.

And, in an unexpected twist, one of those employees showed up in court Thursday to testify for the defense.

Brian Adam Barnd-Spjut, 29, faces four counts of second-degree assault with a firearm. He said he and his fiance showed up at the Commerce Avenue bar on the night of March 28 to speak briefly with the manager, Brandon Kesler, whom he's known since childhood.

Barnd-Spjut, of Longview, said Kesler had invited him to the bar and was expecting him to stop by. But instead of chatting with an old friend, Barnd-Spjut said, he was set upon by three bouncers who demanded he pay a $5 cover charge, then boosted him into the alley.

Barnd-Spjut, who has a concealed weapons permit, said he spun around and pulled a handgun from his waistband because he'd heard stories of bouncers attacking patrons at the club.

"I was scared," Barnd-Spjut said. "I just wanted to be left alone and not beat up."

When he saw Brandon Kesler standing in the alley behind the club he declared, "This is out of control! We've talked about this stuff over and over.... This is ridiculous. I came here to meet you," Barnd-Spjut recalled Thursday.

Bouncers at the bar testified this week that they forcefully ejected Barnd-Spjut because he refused to pay the cover charge and refused to leave. The bouncers said they were the ones who feared for their lives as Barnd-Spjut whipped out a semi-automatic handgun and briefly pointed it at them.

The prosecutor's office says Barnd-Spjut turned the gun on Brandon Kesler, as well as Dominador Daniel, Phillip Church and Kirk Turya, all security staff at the bar.

Deputy Prosecutor Amie Hunt sought Thursday to characterize Barnd-Spjut as reckless and vengeful. She suggested he was angry at the way he'd been booted and didn't take the time to assess the situation.

"Mr. Barnd-Spjut, they weren't coming after you were they?" Hunt pressed.

Barnd-Spjut insisted that he thought he would be beaten.

He said he had told the bouncers he didn't want to stay at the bar and asked them to find Brandon Kesler. They declined, saying Brandon Kesler wasn't on the property. A security video of the incident shows Brandon Kesler rushing from the kitchen as the struggle breaks out and following Barnd-Spjut and the bouncers down the hallway.

Police said they smelled alcohol on Barnd-Spjut's breath when he was arrested as he arrived in the parking lot of another tavern. Barnd-Spjut testified he'd had about four beers over three hours.

Duane Crandall, Barnd-Spjut's defense attorney, has tried to characterize Kesler's as a "dangerous" place where bouncers act like thugs. On Thursday, he called to the witness stand Longview resident Ross Johnson, who testified that he was knocked unconscious by Kesler's bouncers behind the bar.

The bar's owner, Leo Kesler Jr., who is Brandon Kesler's father, said in a phone interview Thursday that his bar is safe and his security staff dependable.

"I appreciate my staff for removing Barnd-Spjut from my establishment in my absence and potentially saving the life of others," Leo Kessler said, reading from a prepared statement. "In my book, they are heroes."

"I don't blame (defense attorney) Crandall for using the excuse of poor bouncers for their defense," he said. "The only way Barnd-Spjut could possibly win is to try to discredit my staff."

Brandon Kesler, 29, was arrested Tuesday night on a material witness warrant because he refused to testify for the prosecution.

When Brandon Kesler testified for the prosecution Wednesday, he wore a t-shirt and slouched on the stand. He said he was testifying against his will and told Hunt, the deputy prosecutor, that he could not identify Barnd-Spjut as the man holding the gun in a security video.

On Thursday, Brandon Kesler showed up in court wearing crisp black slacks and a dress shirt to testify on behalf of his old friend. He told the jury Barnd-Spjut "looked scared, fearful for himself" as he wielded the gun.

Brandon Kesler also said Barnd-Spjut had previously spoken with him about the aggressive nature of the Kesler's security staff. Under questioning, Brandon Kesler said he'd reprimanded the bar's bouncers as a result of those conversations.



Bar myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bkproductionsinc
Owner's son Brandon: http://www.myspace.com/bkproductions
 
Friends making nice after a bad event. The guy showed up a place that prohibits firearms by state law and he's armed the officers said they smelled alcohol on this guy. He got off free? As I said he will be back in the news again, with any luck he won't shoot someone in the process. His license to carry should have been pulled at least.

Nothing good can come from people like this with a consealed license, they are a fuel to the anti gun peoples fire.
 
This is not good press. I know how to avoid problems that arise from going into such places... I do not frequent them.

I did not lose anything in a bar, so I don't enter them. I don't drink, nor do I care for anyone that drinks to excess. Alcoholism killed my older brother; I have no intention of doing the same. I like waking up without a pounding headache, dehydrated and feeling like dog feces.

Thanks, but no thanks.

I prefer to spend my money elsewhere. Ammunition, Propellants, Brass, Bullets, Primers, Magazines, Pizza and Ice Cream. Items such as these seem to be much better investments.
 
Sounds like the needed a beating,going to a bar like that with a gun
Jakhat
AND he should be prosecuted for having a gun in the bar,not just walk. I can believe they didn't have a wand at the door to check for guns
 
Anyone that would walk into a bar with a gun isn't engaging in cogent thought. A has been said, this jackwad will be back in the news... as a statistic. We'll bury, er, I mean file him under moron in... the idiot zone.
 
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