More than seven months after 21 people died in a stampede at the E2 nightclub on the South Side, a Cook County grand jury has returned criminal indictments charging involuntary manslaughter against the club’s owner, his alleged partner and the promoter of the party the night of the tragedy.
Attorneys for the men confirmed Monday that club owner Dwain Kyles, his alleged associate Calvin Hollins, promoter Marco Flores and, according to one attorney and police, a fourth person charged in the case are to appear at the Criminal Courts Building Tuesday morning for bond hearings.
Kyles, Hollins and Flores have been the targets of a months-long grand jury probe during which more than 100 witnesses testified. The indictments were handed down Thursday, and attorneys for each of the three men confirmed they were notified Monday and will have their clients in court Tuesday morning.
The charges were to be officially announced Tuesday, official sources close to the probe said. Involuntary manslaughter is a Class 3 felony carrying a penalty of up to 5 years in prison.
Officials had said involuntary manslaughter would be the most serious of charges to be considered in the grand jury’s review of the case, which began in April.
In approving the charge, sources have said, the panel would need to decide that the men created such a dangerous condition at the crowded club that they knew or should have known that it could cause serious harm or death to the approximately 1,100 people there Feb. 17.
Panicked patrons were crushed in a stairwell after security guards used pepper spray to break up a fight on the dance floor.
Attorneys for those indicted have long said criminal charges in the case would not be appropriate.
Kyles’ attorney, Michael Monico, said, “It would be a shame if anyone were charged criminally in what was clearly an accident.” He said he would be in court early Tuesday to read the indictment.
Kyles, 49, and Hollins, 53, also have been cited in a pending criminal contempt complaint in which the city charges E2 owners with ignoring a July 2002 order to shut down the second floor of the building at 2347 S. Michigan Ave. for code violations. Their attorneys have argued that the order referred only to balconies above the second floor and have repeatedly said the case should not be handled in Criminal Court.
Joseph Lopez, lawyer for Flores, 32, said he was shocked to learn of the grand jury’s action.
“I think it’s a far stretch of the statute,” Lopez said. “I don’t think there’s any criminal intent on behalf of these men, and there’s nothing that qualifies that type of charge.”
Flores controlled Envy Productions and Entertainment, the company that ran the ill-fated dance party at E2.
Cook County State’s Atty. Richard Devine’s office declined to acknowledge any of the information Monday and would not identify the fourth person charged.
Kyles, Hollins and Flores were subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury in July, but they declined to testify, invoking their right against self-incrimination, their attorneys said.
In civil court previously, Hollins denied any ties to the club. His attorney, Thomas Royce, has repeatedly said Hollins had no official job with or link to the company that owned and operated E2.
Hollins has been identified in civil lawsuits brought by relatives of some of those who died as the principal lessee of the building that housed the nightspot.
Authorities have said their estimate of 1,100 patrons in the club was calculated using footage from security cameras trained on the entrance to the building. Lawyers representing families in the civil suits have argued that the maximum number of people allowed inside the club should have been only a few hundred based on the exits available.
How the E2 tragedy unfolded
The crowd at E2, upstairs from Epitome, was dancing to music provided by a DJ when a disturbance broke out near the stage, authorities have said. At least one security guard apparently used pepper spray to break up the fight, and fans being used to cool the crowd then blew the substance over part of the dance floor.
Some patrons began to choke and gag, and panic ensued. A large part of the crowd pushed back toward the staircase they had used to enter the club.
As more patrons tried to hurry down the staircase and into a vestibule only 32 inches wide, some stumbled and were trampled and trapped on the stairs. Those who died were crushed or suffocated, and more than 50 were injured.
Videotape from other security cameras released in the weeks after the tragedy showed that the club’s front door remained propped open throughout the entire incident.
— Tribune
