1992.11.07/10/11 - The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Reports (Criminal case trial) (Axl)

November 7, 1992:



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Agreement Allows Axl Rose To Avoid Trial

Charges against rock star Axl Rose stemming from a riot at Riverport Amphitheatre in the summer of 1991 will be submitted to a judge for a ruling instead of going to trial on Monday.

The agreement frees Rose from having to appear in court for the proceeding.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch said Friday that agreement had been reached with Rose's attorney to submit the evidence to Associate Circuit Judge Ellis Gregory.

Rose is charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of property damage. The performer, star of the rock group Guns N’ Roses, is accused of jumping into the crowd at Riverport and assaulting fans.

Rose is free on $100,000 bond. Several civil suits also are pending.

McCulloch said agreement was reached on submitting the case to Gregory because he and Rose’s attorney, Arthur S. Margulis, had no disagreement on the evidence.

McCulloch said Gregory would review the evidence, and hand down a ruling. If Rose is found guilty, McCulloch said he then would recommend a sentence.

November 10, 1992:




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Plea Bargain For Axl Rose Has A Twist

By William C. Lhotka
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

If a judge convicts Axl Rose of assault today and puts him on probation, the rock star will be granted a special dispensation unavailable to other people in Rose’s straits: He will be allowed to consort with felons.

The reason? Two members of Rose's band, Guns Ν' Roses, are ex-convicts.

The issue came up Monday at a hearing in St. Louis County Circuit Court.

Rose's attorney, Arthur S. Margulis, and prosecutor Dan Diemer submitted stipulated facts relating to the riot in July 1991 at a Guns Ν' Roses concert at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights. Rose is charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of property damage.

Under a plea agreement that Associate Circuit Judge Ellis Gregory Jr. can accept or reject, Rose would be put on two years' probation and his probation would be transferred to California. The singer also would pay $50,000 lo five area charities.

Margulis and Diemer told Gregory that another condition of the agreement would allow Rose to associate with any felon "in and around the band."

“Wait a minute," Gregory said. "What do you mean? ‘In and around the band’ is too vague.” Diemer responded, “Well, actually, members of the band.”

Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch confirmed later that two band members have prior felony convictions, though McCulloch was uncertain of the nature of the offenses.

Gregory agreed to the exemption. But he pressed Margulis about Rose’s understanding of probation.

“Does he understand that if he violates probation, I can send him to jail?” the judge asked.

Margulis said Rose understands the situation.

The judge also contended that the proposed donation of $50,000 was a “pittance” of the rock star's earnings.

Margulis defended the donations. “Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money," he said.

Margulis said in an interview later that the alternative would be community service. “In that context, it is an outstanding service,” Margulis said.

Gregory said he would decide the case today. If the judge approves the agreement, the following charities would get $10,000 each:

- The Child Abuse Detection and Prevention Program, an agency that teaches professionals how to detect child abuse.

- Court-Appointed Special Advocates. They provide legal counsel to juveniles.

- Backstoppers, a group that provides services to families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.

- Youth Emergency Services, an agency that provides a suicide prevention hot line and counseling for teenagers.

- Marian Hall, a Catholic Charities shelter for young women.

Margulis said Rose had suggested a preference for programs for abused children. His attorneys then recommended some agencies, Rose approved them and they were submitted to McCulloch.

McCulloch said a trial would have “lasted several weeks and turned into something of a circus."

The prosecutor said Rose would suffer adequate punishment. McCulloch noted that four concerts by Guns Ν' Roses were canceled after the River-port riot; that Rose was arrested as a fugitive in July in New York and briefly jailed; and that he would have to pay the $50,000 fine.

Rose also faces a dozen or more civil suits relating to the riot, McCulloch said.

Diemer, the assistant prosecutor, gave the judge five volumes of Maryland Heights police reports. He also played for Gregory a 3-minute videotape that showed Rose diving into a crowd after complaining about a video recorder, and showed Rose striking a man.

Rose got back on stage, and yelled: “Thanks for the lame-ass security; I’m going home." He then smashed a microphone and stormed off the stage.

The property damage count stems from the smashed microphone; the assault charges stem from Rose's dive onto people in the front rows and his swings at concertgoers.

November 11, 1992:



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Axl Rose Found Guilty, Faces Civil Suits

By William C. Lhotka
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Although rock singer Axl Rose resolved criminal charges against him Tuesday, he will not be able to get St. Louis County out of his long blond hair for a long, long time.

Courts here could still levy millions of dollars against Rose and his band, Guns N’ Roses.

Consider that:

- Rose still faces civil suits from 17 people who say they were injured after Rose leaped into a crowd at Riverport Amphitheatre on July 2, 1991. A riot ensued shortly after Rose jumped into the crowd.

- The owners of Riverport, in Maryland Heights, also are suing the rock group. They contend the incident caused a public-relations nightmare, damaging the fledgling outdoor theater's reputation and its property.

- Lloyd’s of London has gotten into the act as well. The insurer served Rose with a counterclaim when the rock singer was in Clayton in July. Rose had sued Lloyd's for failure to pay claims, alleging he had to cancel concerts in Chicago and Kansas after the Riverport riot. The countersuit says Rose’s own actions caused the cancellations.

On Tuesday, Associate Circuit Judge Ellis Gregory Jr. found Rose guilty of four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of misdemeanor property damage. Gregory wrote:

"This court finds beyond a reasonable doubt based upon the evidence contained in the police reports and videotapes, that Axl Rose recklessly caused physical injury to Tammy Beckemeyer, Diane Bailey, William Stephenson and Bruce Olsen."

The four were fans near the stage. Videotapes show that alter the band performed for 42 minutes and played eight songs, Rose got angry over a flash camera used by Stephenson and leaped off the stage into the crowd on top of Stephenson and the two women. Rose then threw a punch at Olsen.

The judge approved an agreement reached Monday by the prosecutor, Dan Diemer, and the defense attorney, Arthur S. Margulis. Under the agreement, Rose must pay $50,000 to five area charities. He will be on probation for two years.

Gregory allowed two special conditions: Rose can travel outside the United States with his band, and he can associate with band members who are felons.

Diemer and Margulis had told Gregory that two band members had felony convictions.

But Bryn Bridenthal, a publicist for Guns N’ Roses’ record label, David Geffen Records, said she was unaware of that.

Bridenthal said neither Rose nor his business manager, Doug Goldstein, would comment on the case. "Everybody is just glad it’s resolved,” Bridenthal said.

But it isn't, say Frank Kaveney, Norman Seiner and Robert Blitz, attorneys who have sued the singer and the band. The three lawyers said the separate civil suits can now go forward.

Rose's attorneys contend the rock star cannot be held liable because he left the stage and was driven off in a limousine 15 minutes before the eruption of the melee of angry fans, security people and police.

But the attorneys for Riverport — Blitz and Joseph P. Conran — say in their suit that the band had agreed in its contract "to refrain from conduct which defendants knew ... would be provocative and dangerous to members of the audience.”

Kaveney put it more bluntly Tuesday: "It’s like shouting fire in a crowded theater and then being the first one out."

Kaveney said, "His knowledge of the volatility of rock concert crowds would be relevant in determining what actions an entertainer should take in dealing with that crowd. He wasn't entertaining a group of nuns." Kaveney represents four injured fans.

Seiner, who represents eight injured fans, said he can now seek to take Rose's sworn statements.

“I'm told that Rose is in Europe and won't return until March," Seiner said. "We'll probably have to wait."