Two Central Texas rap artists, accused of wounding eight people in a shooting in downtown Austin early Friday, turned themselves in to authorities hours later.Brandon Bruce Hutchison, 25, and LaBaaron Demon Hutchison, 21, are charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They are each being held on bail of about $4 million.
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Police say eight people injured in shooting at Spiros nightclub
Suspects are two brothers part of La Grange rap group that were told not to perform.
By Isadora Vail, Michael Corcoran and Joe Gross
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Two Central Texas rap artists, accused of wounding eight people in a shooting in downtown Austin early Friday, turned themselves in to authorities hours later.
LaBaaron Demon Hutchison, 21, are charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They are each being held on bail of about $4 million.
Brandon Hutch & His brother shot up a nightclub because they couldn't perform
Brandon Bruce Hutchison
, 25, and
Austin police said the two men are brothers — known as “Big Hutch and “Lil’ Hutch,” — who were scheduled to play Thursday night at Spiros nightclub, 611 Red River St., with their La Grange-based rap group, the LG Allstarz.
Spiros General Manager Josh Cisneros said Friday afternoon that the LG Allstarz showed up at 2 a.m. — the club’s closing time — and expected to play. Promoter Ramone “Sicc” Stewart said a fight began when the LG Allstarz asked him to cut short the performance of the group on stage so they could perform. The Hutchisons, leaders of the largely unknown group, were ejected, along with others.
“They showed up late and wanted me to cut off one of the headliners,” said Stewart, who has been promoting rap shows in Austin for two years. “When I said, ‘No way,’ one of them took a swing at me, and the bouncers threw them out.”
Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Cisneros said, “They were loud when they were kicked out. But they left calmly enough that we forgot about them.
“Never in a million years did we think they would come back with guns,” he said.
Police said the Hutchisons returned about 2:15 a.m., after the club had closed but while patrons still milled along the sidewalk. Police said the Hutchisons used handguns to fire into the crowd.
“Most of the people who got shot were females,” said Stewart, who was stabbed in the arm during the melee. “One of my friends was shot in the stomach two times. Another friend was shot in the back.”
LeBaaron Hutch
Austin police Lt. Christian Malanka said Friday afternoon that it was unclear how many shots were fired. The Hutchisons turned themselves in at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office about 3 p.m. Friday. Both men have been charged with eight counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with bail for each count set at $500,000.
Five people were shot in their legs, two people were shot in their feet and one woman was shot in the abdomen. Police said the woman was recovering after surgery.
“We never had an incident like that before,” said Cisneros, who has worked at Spiros for seven years. “It was absolutely insane, like a drive-by shooting on foot. I hope they spend the rest of their lives in jail.”
In 2008, officers responded 172 times to incidents at Spiros, police said. The calls included those for violent crimes and nonviolent incidents, such as break-ins and personal injuries.
Because of the number of calls, Austin police Commander Antonia Singletary said Spiros is being considered for nuisance abatement under a state statute that aims to shut down gang hangouts and to prevent gang members from publicly assembling in areas with rampant criminal activity.
Police said Friday that they didn’t know whether the Hutchisons were gang members.
Cisneros, who couldn’t be reached to respond to police allegations, had said earlier that patrons are frisked before entering the club.
While Spiros typically hires private security for the weekend, when the club is packed, there was no private security Thursday night.
“This was a very small show; only about 100 patrons were there,” Cisneros said, adding that Stewart previously has booked and promoted four problem-free shows at Spiros.
Spiros remained closed Friday night, Cisneros said. “We will probably be closed for a while.”
ivail@statesman.com; 445-3763