Criminal Details

Associated Press
august 10, 2012

A strip club customer angry over getting kicked out returned to the club with a pistol, killing three people and wounding one, authorities said Friday.

Ryan Clark Petersen, 22, of Enterprise faces three counts of capital murder in the killing of the club owner’s son, an employee and a customer and is charged with one count of attempted murder of another customer, Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes said Friday.

Hughes said the shooting occurred shortly before midnight Thursday at Teasers in Wicksburg, just west of the Dothan city limits. A sign outside advertises “Cold Beer Hot Women.”

Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd identified the dead as dancer Tiffani Paige Grissett, 31, of Dale County; the owner’s son, Cameron Eubanks, 20, of Wicksburg; and customer Thomas Robins Jr., 59, of Dothan. Wounded was 33-year-old Scotty Russell of Opp.

Byrd said Petersen “made inappropriate advances toward a dancer and was asked to leave the club.”

Eubanks escorted him out. He went to his car, retrieved a pistol, and returned to shoot Eubanks just outside the front door, the coroner said.

Grissett was gunned down in the women’s restroom, and Robins was shot near the back of the club, apparently while trying to help others, he said.

The sheriff said Eubanks’ father lived behind the club, heard the shots and fired three times at Petersen as he tried to get in his car to flee. Petersen was not hit, but he ran into nearby woods, where officers found him hiding about 7 a.m. He had shed his shirt and shoes and was wearing only tan shorts when officers found him and he surrendered.

Officials said Petersen fired nine shots and some of the victims were hit multiple times. He was being held in jail without bond Friday. If convicted of capital murder, he could face a death sentence or life in prison without parole.

Court officials said he did not yet have an attorney. A phone listing for his address in Enterprise no longer worked Friday

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson – Aug 10, 2012

Anna Mechling likely won’t forget how she crawled behind the bar to take cover from gunfire at her place of employment.

Mechling, 25, a five-year veteran dancer, said a shooting at Teasers nightclub where she works has left her in shock.

Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes outlined some of the details Friday of gunfire that erupted at Teasers, a topless nightclub. He said deputies responded to a report of gunfire around 11:36 p.m. Thursday at the nightclub located at the intersection of U.S. 84 and Alabama Highway 134 in Wicksburg.

“I’m a dancer there. I heard two or three shots and I thought it was a speaker blowing,” Mechling said. “I was sitting at a table with a customer in between the two stages. We had just got done with the dollar dances, and then I heard a couple of shots go off. I got my high heels off and quickly crawled like hell behind the bar.”

Hughes said investigators captured Ryan Clark Petersen, 22, of Enterprise, and charged him with three felony counts of capital murder and a single felony count of attempted murder. Petersen remains held without bail at the Houston County Jail.

Hughes said the shooting left three people dead, and a fourth injured.

Hughes released what happened with the following details:

The gunfire apparently started after a man had been escorted out of the nightclub after an altercation. He said the man, who he identified as Petersen, retrieved a handgun from his car and then used it to kill a man standing at the doorway of the club before continuing inside and firing a few more times.

Hughes said the gunman initially ran toward his vehicle, but ran away after the owner of the nightclub apparently started shooting at him.

Hughes described how a multi-agency manhunt started for the gunman in the area surrounding the nightclub. He said there were more than 30 sheriff’s deputies along with Dothan police officers and assistance from the Dale County Sheriff’s helicopter. He said officers found the gunman in a field with very thick undergrowth. He also said Enterprise police assisted in the investigation.

Petersen apparently lost his shirt and shoes during an effort to escape law enforcement. As deputies escorted Petersen to jail he could be seen with scratches about his torso along with others that left his feet bloodied. Two tattoos could be seen on Petersen’s body — a peace sign on one shoulder and an anarchy symbol on the other shoulder.

Hughes said they found the alleged murder weapon, a 9 mm handgun. He said the gun was legally purchased.

Hughes said a total of nine shots were fired during the shooting. He declined to say how many times each victim was shot or where. He said the first victim, 20-year-old Cameron Paul Eubanks, was the nightclub owner’s son. He said 31-year-old Tiffani Paige Grissett and 59-year-old Thomas Robins Jr. were both shot to death inside the club. He said a fourth person, Scotty Russell, 33, of Opp, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm.

“This was not some preconceived plot to go in and start killing people,” Hughes said. “We’ve had quite a few calls out there, most of them minor up to this point.”

Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd said he responded to the nightclub around 6 a.m. Byrd said Eubanks was found just outside the club with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen. He said Grissett was found in the ladies restroom inside the club with a single gunshot wound to abdomen. He said Robins was found in the VIP area with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.

“This is probably the most homicides that I have ever dealt with,” Byrd said. “It’s just tragic to have so many people senselessly murdered. It’s heartbreaking.”

Mechling recalled seeing Petersen in the nightclub earlier in the evening as she danced.

“I do remember when I was on stage he was just standing there looking at me,” Mechling said. “I remember seeing him and he was just sitting by himself.”