Ohio Man Dies in Gay Bar Brawl
A bar fight that erupted at a gay nightspot in Toledo claimed the life of one area man. The death is not thought to be a hate crime.
The fight was reportedly sparked at about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 13 on the dance floor of Caesar’s Showbar, a gay establishment, reported Findlay, Ohio newspaper The Courier on Dec. 23. The fight turned into a brawl that continued outside after the bar’s staff ejected a number of people; 32-year-old Marland Woods, of Findlay, reportedly tried to intervene and protect another individual at some point in the melee. However, Woods himself became the victim of a fatal beating after leaving the bar. Woods was hospitalized but succumbed to head injuries nearly a week later, on Dec. 19.
Woods did not often go out, his sister, Shonda Floyd said. Woods’ domestic partner of 10 years, Brian Hunker, confirmed this, saying that Woods "worked every day of the week. He had one day off and that’s why he went out." Woods reportedly went to the bar with a friend; Hunker was not present when the brawl broke out.
"He was such a homebody," Woods’ sister. "This was only the second time this year he went to a bar and this happened to him. He never started any trouble. He died trying to keep someone else from being hurt."
One man was arrested on Dec. 9 for felonious assault in connection with the brawl, but no one has been charged with murder. A Dec. 19 article in the Toledo Blade said that the staff of Caesar’s Showbar ejected a number of patrons, including Woods, due to the fight, and that Woods then crossed the street to a Greyhound Bus station, where he was attacked. The assailant kicked and stomped on Woods, inflicting head injuries; he then left the scene with several others in a white Jeep.
Police pulled the vehicle over later and placed 20-year-old Norman Coggins under arrest. Coggins was later arraigned on charges of felonious assault and released; he is due back in court on Jan. 8.
Woods’ family and friends held a vigil outside the bar on Dec. 22. Shonda Floyd told local ABC affiliate WTVG, "I am so angry," and said she wanted "some type of justice" in the case. "They stomped my brother," Floyd said. "It’s absolutely not right... They took away my kids’ uncle. They took away my brother."
"Every hour is a struggle," Hunker told the news channel.
