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  [95]US news

Trial over death at Colorado strip club delayed after key lawyer dies there
too

  Steve Long, defending Shotgun Willie's over death of Randall Wright in
  2019, found dead after evening at club earlier this month
  The deaths of Long, 70, and Wright have landed Shotgun Willie's in the
  media spotlight.
  [ ]
  The deaths of Steve Long, 70, and Randall Wright have landed Shotgun
  Willie's in the media spotlight. Photograph: Shotgun Willie's/Twitter
  The deaths of Steve Long, 70, and Randall Wright have landed Shotgun
  Willie's in the media spotlight. Photograph: Shotgun Willie's/Twitter


  [96]Ramon Antonio Vargas
  Wed 26 Oct 2022 13.23 EDTLast modified on Wed 26 Oct 2022 13.41 EDT
    *
    *
    *

  A trial centering on the death of a retail company executive at a
  [97]Colorado strip club in 2019 has been delayed after a lawyer
  defending the club died there too.

  Steve Long was defending the strip club, Shotgun Willie's in Glendale,
  in a lawsuit alleging it was liable for the death of Randall Wright, a
  customer, three years ago. The case was supposed to go to trial on 7
  November.

  But after Long died at Shotgun Willie's on 1 October, his colleagues
  asked for a postponement, according to BusinessDen and [98]the Denver
  Post.

  Listening to arguments for four hours, the presiding judge, Peter
  Michaelson, reportedly sighed, cradled his head in his hands and rubbed
  his face as he listened to a chain of events unlikely to have much
  precedent in American jurisprudence.

  "The timing of this was just awful for everybody," said Long's
  co-counsel, Peter Middleton, acknowledging it was "kind of weird" that
  Long died at the club he was defending over another death.

  An attorney for Wright's family, Reid Elkus, argued that the trial
  shouldn't be delayed, saying his clients had been waiting for their day
  in court more than three years and Long had not been the sole member of
  the Shotgun Willie's legal team.

  "The case is now ripe for trial," Elkus said. "Justice delayed is
  justice not served."

  Wright, a 48-year-old Kroger executive, was at Shotgun Willie's in the
  Denver suburb of Glendale on 2 May 2019 when he fought with another man
  and got into a chase through the club, BusinessDen reported. Wright
  died shortly after being tackled by a bartender, Derek Hendricks.

  Wright's family sued Hendricks and the club, alleging the bartender put
  Wright in a dangerous chokehold, thereby causing Wright's family up to
  nearly $5m in damages. The defendants countered that Wright died
  because he had an unhealthy heart.

  On the night Long died, the lawyer shared drinks and played cards with
  a woman employed by Shotgun Willie's as an entertainer, according to a
  [99]local CBS affiliate.

  The entertainer reportedly perceived Long to be "extremely"
  intoxicated. Another employee began taking him home before bringing him
  back, to let him sleep in his car.

  Staff members checking on Long every few minutes noticed he wasn't
  breathing and called 911, the CBS affiliate reported. Paramedics
  brought Long to hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

  Though Long's colleagues succeeded in gaining a trial delay in the
  Wright case - the judge said dates in January and March were possible -
  a request for permission to take jurors to Shotgun Willie's was denied.

  The club's lawyers contended that a visit would give jurors a better
  view of the business than grainy security camera video, BusinessDen
  reported.

  The deaths of Long, 70, and Wright have landed Shotgun Willie's in the
  media spotlight about five years after it drew public ire for
  [100]displaying a sign that read "Toxic Masculinity Welcome Here".

  At the time, the #MeToo social justice movement aiming to hold powerful
  men accountable for sexual misconduct was causing headlines worldwide.
  Topics
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    * [102]Colorado
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