Charges dropped in nightclub stampede
More than a year after a judge acquitted three men of criminal charges in a 2003 nightclub stampede that left 21 people dead, prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed the same charges against the last defendant.
Prosecutors said at a hearing that they couldn't proceed with the case against Dwain Kyles because of an appellate court's decision to uphold a judge's ruling not to allow what they called key evidence.
"Due to the appellate court's ruling, we had insufficient evidence to proceed with the criminal case against Dwain Kyles," said Tandra Simonton, spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The dismissal brings to a quiet end prosecutors' efforts to hold someone criminally responsible for the deaths of patrons who were trapped and crushed in a stairwell at the E2 nightclub. The victims rushed into the passageway after someone used pepper spray to break up a fight inside the club.
The Feb. 17 stampede, in which more than 50 others were injured, made headlines around the world. The tragedy, along with fire in a Rhode Island nightclub three days later that killed 100, helped trigger a nationwide effort to step up nightclub safety measures.
Kyles, one of the club's owners, along with another owner, the club's manager and a party promoter, were charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Kyles was scheduled to stand trial at the same time as the other men, until a judge issued the ruling against prosecutors, prompting them to delay prosecution to file an appeal.
Judge Dennis Porter ruled that prosecutors could not introduce as evidence a Housing Court order that required E2 to close because of code violations. He said the order was vague and that no link could be made between the decision to disregard the order and the deaths.
A jury was to hear the case against Kyles at the same time Porter was to decide the fate of the other three. Prosecutors appealed the judge's decision, even as they continued with the trial of the others.
Several weeks later, Porter acquitted club owner Calvin Hollins Jr., his son and club manager Calvin Hollins III and party promoter Marco Flores. In July, an appellate court upheld Porter's ruling.
Prosecutors all but acknowledged that without the Housing Court order they could not proceed, filing at the time of Porter's ruling a "certificate of substantial impairment" with the judge.
On Wednesday, Kyles said he was "relieved" that prosecutors had dropped the charges.
"Only in America could this kind of result, I think, come after such significant media coverage that would suggest that I was guilty," he told reporters outside the courtroom. "But my heart really does remain broken for the families."
The charges never should have been brought in the first place because none of the defendants broke the law, said Kyles' attorney Tommy Brewer.
Prosecutors were under intense pressure to charge someone after the incident -- pressure that was only more intense after the fire at the Rhode Island nightclub, he said.
Prosecutors "knew years ago they didn't have a case," Brewer said, adding that they certainly had to know it after the judge dismissed the charges against the other three men even before defense attorneys called a single witness.
Simonton would not comment on Brewer's statements.
Meanwhile, there are several lawsuits from family members of victims that are pending.
Also, Edward Grasse, an attorney who represents the owners, said Kyles and Calvin Hollins Jr. face criminal contempt charges stemming from their alleged violation of the Housing Court order to close E2.
Also, he said, Hollins and his son, Calvin Hollins III, filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the state's attorney's office and the city of Chicago.