GASTONIA, N.C. — A Gaston County judge increased the bond for one of two men accused of opening fire and injuring six people, including two police officers, during a fight at a Gastonia nightclub last year.
During a Tuesday afternoon court hearing, Judge David Phillips increased Allen Slaughter's bond from $1 million to $1.5 million after Slaughter's attorney, Norman Butler, asked for a $300,000 bond.
Investigators accused Slaughter of firing a gun outside Remedies nightclub in November 2020, which struck four club patrons and two Gastonia police officers, Sgt. E. Nelson and Officer M. Lewis.
The department said the two officers, who were working off-duty security, tried to break up a fight when bullets started flying.
Slaughter’s defense attorney, Norman Butler, said his client didn’t fire a gun and cited an interview he conducted with one of the injured club patrons.
"He tells me that he saw the person who shot him and it was not Mr. Allen slaughter," Butler said.
Butler acknowledged the gun recovered in the shooting does contain Slaughter’s touch DNA.
"It is certainly possible that a person's DNA can be on an item that has been examined without that person being in actually physical possession of that item," Butler said. "That's the case in this particular instance."
Assistant District Attorney Chad Smith responded, "The chance that it is not Mr. Slaughter's DNA on the gun is 1 in 10.1 octillion. I had to Google that. That’s a number with 27 0's at the end."
Smith alleged the club’s security cameras and where Slaughter was found indicated he's the gunman.
"The vehicle that ultimately the defendant was found in, the passenger seat of, you can clearly see the shooter go and get into the passenger seat of the car," Smith said.
Slaughter and Alonzo Lewis Hamilton were arrested and charged with six felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the incident.
According to a search warrant, Hamilton and Slaughter got into a car and drove to the back of the club before responding officers blocked them from leaving.
A K-9 officer found a pistol lying on the ground near some trees behind the building.
Both officers received $6,000 in donations collected by Sammy's Neighborhood Pub in Belmont and Webb Custom Kitchen in Gastonia. The owners of both businesses said they felt it was their duty to step in and help the injured officers.
"So many times we hear about these things happening to officers, and it's always someplace else and now it's close to home," John Bailey, Sammy's owner, said. "Once it hits home, we need to jump up and do something about it."
Contact Brandon Golder at bgoldner@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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