Update:  New Beginnings Death Not The Result Of Hate Crime

UPDATE/ 5:22 p.m. 01/27/09:  Johnson City police say the beating death of a man at New Beginnings nightclub was not the result of a hate crime. Although the sexual preferences of both Bradley Ashby, the accused attacker, and James Lewis, the victim, remain unclear, Lt. Steve Sherfey says what happened at the gay-friendly nightspot was not motivated by anyone’s sexual-orientation. In fact, investigators aren’t sure there was a motive at all.

“I think it was just a brawl at a bar that went too far,“ Sherfey said.

Sherfey says when the bar closed Sunday morning, a crowd spilled into the New Beginnings parking lot. He says several people who had been drinking exchanged words, a fight started, two women were hit, and ultimately Ashby punched Lewis once in the face. Lewis died the next day at the hospital. Sherfey hopes an autopsy will reveal more about his death.

“We’ll have to wait on the results of that to conclusively say what he died from, whether it was the blow that killed him or the fall that killed him,“ Sherfey said.

Regardless, Sherfey says it wasn’t hate that killed Lewis. Local pastor John Shuck hopes that’s the case. Shuck is a member of the group Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). When he first heard of Lewis’ death, he feared it was a hate crime.

“What was the motivation for this crime,“ Shuck wondered. “Was this based on sexual orientation or perceived?“

Now that police have said Lewis’ death was not the result of a hate crime, Shuck says he can rest a little bit easier.

“If this is not motivated by sexual orientation, real or perceived, I’m relieved,“ Shuck said.

UPDATE/ 1:35 p.m. 01/27/09: Johnson City Police have arrested Amber McCurry, 19, in conjunction with the beating death of a man at New Beginnings nightclub over the weekend. McCurry is charged with filing a false report after she allegedly told police she did not know the people who were in her vehicle, among those was Bradley Ashby.

UPDATE/ 9:52a.m./ 01/27/09: Johnson City police are looking for a second suspect in the beating death of a man at a Johnson City nightclub.

Officers arrested Bradley Ashby Monday night and charged him with reckless homicide.

He’s accused of punching James Lewis early Sunday morning in the parking lot of New Beginnings. Lewis died yesterday at the Johnson City Medical Center.

Today, Capt. Mike Street said investigators are looking for a couple of other people for questioning, including one suspect, which he has decided not to name at this time. Street says there could be more charges in this case. After all, he says several people were involved in the fight that led to Lewis’ death. In fact, two women were also assaulted in the midst of the brawl, Street said.

He says there is no indication that the fight was motivated by anyone’s sexual preference. Street says at this point, investigators have not found that anyone targeted a specific group that night. Street is not classifying this as a hate crime.

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Police arrested a man Monday night and charged him with reckless homicide after the death of another man injured outside a Johnson City nightclub.

The victim, James Lewis of Telford, Tennessee, died Monday from injuries sustained early Sunday in a fight at New Beginnings, 2910 Bristol Highway.

Johnson City Police say they arrested Bradley Ashby, 19, 807 E. Chilhowie Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, and charged with him with one count of reckless homicide.  Ashby was booked into the Washington County, Tennessee Detention Center with a $50,000 bond.