This wont stop the harassment but its good to see the truth come forward.
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/15511/atlanta-judge-finds-eagle-bar-defendants-not-guilty-dismisses-charges-against-othersMunicipal Judge Crystal Gaines said city police failed to produce evidence proving that men danced naked without permits or that the bar operators were running an unlicensed adult establishment...
"We always thought from the beginning that we were charged for no reason," bar co-owner Richard Ramey, who was not a defendant, said after the decision. "They had no right to be there," he said of the police...
When Thursday's court hearing began, eight people -- dancers, bar employees and another bar co-owner -- stood as defendants.
According to police records, police raided the club because of reports of drug activity and because undercover officers reported seeing men having sex at the club while customers looked on. But the raid produced no charges of drug use or illicit sex.
The employees were instead charged with business license violations, while the dancers were accused of providing adult entertainment without a license. Each violation carries a maximum punishment of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The lead investigator, Det. Bennie E. Bridges could not identify all eight defendants, prompting defense attorney Alan Begner to push for dismissals.
One by one, senior assistant solicitor Larry Gardner agreed to the dismissals, until only three defendants remained: co-owner Robert Kelley and dancers Leandro Apud and Tadareius Johnson.
After arguing whether the Eagle was an adult entertainment business rather than just a bar, the defense produced eight witnesses to contradict Atlanta PDs two. Judge Crystal Gaines ruled that the city had not met the burden of proof necessary to find the bar owners or dancers guilty of any crime. The Eagle has been exonerated.
In late November, 19 of the 62 bar patrons who were detained, searched, and brutalized filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Atlanta with the help of Lambda Legal. Police Chief Richard Pennington and 48 officers are named in the suit as violating patrons' Federal and State Constitutional rights, as well as Georgia state law. The case is Calhoun vs. Pennington.
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