1993.10.15-29 - The St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP - Reports (Civil suit trial) (Axl)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 15, 1993:



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Subdued Axl Rose A Spectacle In Court

Rocker Lets Lawyers Do Talking In Trial

By Tim Bryant
Of the Past-Dispatch Staff

Axl Rose took center stage in St. Louis Thursday without saying a word, singing a note or leaping into the crowd.

Heads turned as Rose, leader of the rock band Guns N’ Roses, entered a crowded sixth-floor courtroom from the side door and sat down with his back to spectators and news cameras.

He wore a gray suit, white shirt — no tie. His straight, reddish hair fell far below his shoulders.

Large men who escorted Rose in and out of the circuit court building described themselves as part of the rock star’s "management team.”

Rose, 31, is in court because of the riot at the Guns N’ Roses concert July 2, 1991, at the Riverport amphitheater in Maryland Heights. The rocker is the main defendant in a civil suit filed by William "Slump” Stephenson of St. Louis.

Stephenson, 28, alleges that he hurt his back when Rose dived off the stage and landed on him. Defense lawyers said Rose was trying to get a camera that Stephenson used to take unauthorized photographs. The trial was expected to last about a week.

Rose ignored the courtroom spectators, whose numbers rose and fell during the trial's first day. But the singer chatted amiably with his lawyers, particularly Barbara Wallace, as they watched a videotape of the concert. His lawyers say Rose will testify.

The jury of seven men and five women watched the concert videotape. About 90 minutes into the event, Rose pointed and shouted: "Take that! Take that! Get that guy and take that. I’ll take it,... ”

Rose then belly-flopped off the stage. The video shows what appears to be scuffling. When Rose returned to the stage, he grabbed the microphone and told the crowd: “Thanks to the ... security, I’m going home.”

In parting, he flung down the microphone and stalked off the stage.

A friend of Stephenson, Jeffrey Banks, testified that he owned the camera. Banks and Stephenson are members of the Saddle Tramps motorcycle club.

Banks, 27, said he took his camera from Stephenson when he saw Rose pointing at his friend. Rose then dived onto Stephenson, and both of them fell over chairs bolted to the concrete floor, Banks said.

Stephenson appeared dazed and injured.

"He was straight as a board, laying there,” Banks said. "It seemed to me he was hurt.”

Stephenson claims the incident left him with a bulged disc in his back. His lawyer, Mark I. Bronson, said Stephenson has under- -gone extensive physical therapy.

Stephenson can no longer carry' heavy items and wears a back brace when he rides his motorcycle, Banks said.

Bronson asked jurors to award his client actual and punitive damages.

At the concert — minutes after Rose and his band left — the crowd began pelting security guards with bottles and debris. Some witnesses said Rose’s own security people threw things back.

The riot was on. Authorities estimated that 3,000 of the 15,000 people in the crowd took part in the disturbance, which injured 65 people.

One of Rose's lawyers, Allen S. Boston, told jurors that Stephenson’s back problems likely resulted from weight lifting, riding a motorcycle and performing heavy labor.

Boston added that Rose had been worried about security at Riverport. The singer tried to get the camera because some magazines had run false stories about the band using photos taken at concerts, Boston said.

When he plunged off the stage, Rose hit an empty chair, not Stephenson, Boston said. The rocker grabbed Stephenson by the back of his shirt as he was “trying to scurry away on his hands and knees,” the lawyer added.

Stephenson’s suit is a "simple case” between “two healthy young men falling to the ground,” Boston said.

Guns N’ Roses fans and the curious drifted in and out of the courtroom. Sharon Turlington, a public defender, was among them.

"It’s a courthouse novelty,” she said. “He’s famous. I thought I’d come to check it out. If it were Joe Schmoe on trial, who’d care?”

Melody Caldwell, a secretary in the public defender's office, said she attended the concert but sat far from the stage. Up close, Rose was taller than she expected, with red-, der hair, she said.

In November Rose was convicted in St. Louis County of four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of property damage as a result of the riot. A judge put Rose on two years' probation.
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Captions:

William “Stump” Stephenson waiting outside a St. Louis courtroom for his civil trial against Axl Rose to resume.

Rock star Axl Rose (center) leaving the circuit court building downtown Thursday with a group of men described as his management team. Rose is a defendant in a civil suit filed by William “Stump” Stephenson of St. Louis.

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Associated Press via The Springfield News Leader - October 15, 1993:



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Jury watches videotape of rocker diving into crowd

Axl Rose trial: Guns N’ Roses’ frontman defends himself against charges he injured a man at a concert.

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Axl Rose was back in St. Louis Thursday, but this time the stage was a courtroom.

Rose, the lead singer for the rock band Guns Ν’ Roses, appeared at a civil court proceeding Thursday stemming from a 1991 concert that turned into a riot. A fan, William “Stump" Stephenson, 28, is suing Rose for actual and punitive damages, claiming Rose’s attack injured his ear, head and back.

The concert at the Riverport Amphitheatre in suburban Maryland Heights was cut short after a little more than an hour when Rose dived from the stage to take a camera from Stephenson, who had been taking unauthorized photos from the second row.

On Thursday, Rose, dressed in a conservative gray suit with a white shirt buttoned at the collar, took notes during opening arguments.

Stephenson’s attorney, Mark Bronson of St. Louis, said Rose landed on Stephenson, knocking him backward over a bolted-down chair and causing the injuries. The ear has healed, but Stephenson suffers occasional pain from the back injury, he said.

Rose’s attorney, Al Boston, said his client would testify he was not to blame for the injuries. He said Rose was angered when Stephenson disrupted the concert, and he tried unsuccessfully to get security guards to take away Stephenson’s camera.

The seven-man, five-woman jury saw a videotape of the July 2, 1991, outdoor concert. The video showed Rose say, “Take that. Take that. Get
that guy and take that,” referring to Stephenson and the camera. When security guards acted more slowly than Rose would have preferred, he said, “Never mind, I’ll get the (expletive) thing myself.”

The video showed Rose diving into the crowd. Where he landed was unclear.

Jeff Banks, who described himself as Stephenson’s best friend, said the two have attended hundreds of concerts in St. Louis and elsewhere since becoming acquainted about 15 years ago.

Banks said he saw Rose dive into Stephenson, a small but powerfully built man. He said the force of the dive knocked Stephenson over the row of chairs and onto the concrete floor.

Norman Benne, a security officer who said he was stationed near the incident, also said he saw Rose land on Stephenson and knock him over the chairs, Benne said he also saw
Rose hit or slap Stephenson.

In his opening statement, Boston contended Rose did not land on Stephenson. Boston said Rose landed near Stephenson, then wrestled him to the ground and held him so security guards could get the camera.

Boston said there is no medical evidence that Stephenson suffered serious injuries. He said Stephenson’s lifestyle — he has performed heavy lifting at work and was an avid weightlifter — are responsible for any back injuries he has suffered.

In the riot that resulted from the incident, about 40 fans and 20 police officers were injured, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage was done to the amphitheater.

In a criminal case last year, Rose was convicted of four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of property damage. He was given two years’ probation.

The Associated Press via The Springfield News Leader - October 16, 1993:



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'I didn’t land on’ plaintiff, rock star says

Axl Rose is being sued by a former fan, who says the singer’s appetite for destruction damaged his hearing and his back at a St. Louis concert.

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Jurors on Friday saw rock star Axl Rose, in a videotaped deposition, say he did not attack a fan photographing his 1991 concert in suburban St. Louis.

William "Stump" Stephenson, 28, of St. Louis, is seeking actual and punitive damages from Rose, lead singer of the band Guns N’ Roses.

Stephenson claims Rose, apparently angry because Stephenson was taking unauthorized photos of the concert, dived onto him from the stage, knocking him backwards over a row of chairs.

Stephenson also claims that Rose struck him and that Rose’s bodyguards slammed his head against a concrete floor. The incident ended the concert and led to a riot at Ri-verport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights.

In a deposition videotaped in Los Angeles in May, Rose said he left the stage to take the camera away from Stephenson and held him until security guards could get there. But he said he didn’t strike him.

“I dived off the (stage), into the chairs,” Rose said. “I didn’t land on Stump.”

During the deposition, Rose wore a T-shirt that read, “St. Louis Sucks.”

Stephenson’s lawsuit claims he suffered temporary hearing loss in his right ear and a permanent back injury. Earlier Friday, ear specialist Norman Druck testified that tests four months after the concert showed some hearing loss.

But Rose’s attorneys said Stephenson is a frequent concertgoer, shoots shotguns and once had a firecracker go off near his right ear. During cross-examination, Druck said any of those could have been responsible for the hearing loss.

The concert on July 2, 1991, escalated into a riot in which about 60 people were hurt. The amphitheater suffered thousands of dollars in damage.

In an agreement with prosecutors last November, Rose agreed to two years probation and a $50,000 fine for his role in the riot. If he abides by his probation, the four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of property damage will be dismissed.

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 16, 1993:



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Rose Landed On Spectator, Guard Testifies

‘It Looked Like A Jab Or Two Was Thrown’

By Tim Bryant
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Stump came out on the short end when Axl rolled over him.

So testified a security guard who said Friday that he saw rock star Axl Rose land on top of William "Stump” Stephenson and begin throwing punches after the singer made his famous leap from a concert stage.

Steve Stewart, a guard at River-port, told a St. Louis Circuit Court jury that Rose hit Stephenson as the two fell.

"It looked like a jab or two was thrown," Stewart said.

Rose, leader of the rock band Guns N’ Roses, briefly held Stephenson in a headlock, threw a punch at another Riverport security guard and then scrambled back on stage, Stewart said.

Rose announced he was “going home” and ordered his band from the stage.

Minutes later, restless fans among the 15,000 who attended the Guns N’ Roses concert the night of July 2, 1991, began a riot that caused extensive damage.

Sixty-five people were hurt, including Stephenson, who is suing Rose for actual and punitive damages.

Stephenson is alleging that he hurt his back when the singer landed on him.

Rose sat with his back to the small number of spectators Friday at the Civil Courts Building.

He wore a white suit with a dark tie and dark suede cowboy boots.

Rose, 31, was expected to fly home to Los Angeles this weekend and return to St. Louis when the trial resumes Monday.

Under cross-examination, Stewart, 32, of De Soto acknowledged that Rose might also have landed on an empty chair when he dived off the stage, chasing a small camera Stephenson held.

The rock star’s lawyers have said Rose was angered when fans took unauthorized photographs at his concerts.

Stewart also told Stephenson's lawyer, Mark Bronson, that people “were falling over” and that Rose could have hit the chair after he landed.

Stewart added that as he tried to restore order, members of the Saddle Tramps motorcycle club hit him. Stephenson, 28, of St. Louis is a club member.

Thomas J. Dohack, head of Dohack Air Conditioning & Heating, also testified.

Dohack said he had to fire Stephenson as a truck driver and laborer because Stephenson was unable to say when he could return to work after his back injury.

He said Stephenson had been a good employee with no sign of back trouble before his encounter with Rose.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 17, 1993:



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Fans Here Take Little Notice Of Rock Star Axl Rose’s Trial

By Tim Bryant
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

St. Louis sheriffs officials were braced for the onslaught. Heavy metal rock star Axl Rose was in town, perhaps followed by a legion of his notoriously rowdy fans.

Deputies were detailed to clear a path for Rose and his entourage to a sixth-floor courtroom at the Civil Courts Building. Top Sheriffs Department officials stood watch at the back of the courtroom with walkie-talkies.

To see the leader of a band that has sold 100 million albums, throngs of fans were expected to storm the courthouse.

It didn’t happen. The fans were a no-show.

No groupies rushed Rose, even though his band, Guns N’ Roses, is world famous. No crowds gathered at his hotel.Only a few people — two dozen at most — actually arrived for a courtroom peek at Rose.

And then they could only look at Rose’s back and his long red hair as he sat with his lawyers.

Rose, 31, came to St. Louis last week because of a lawsuit that grew out the Guns Ν’ Roses concert July 2, 1991, at the Riverport amphitheater in Maryland Heights.

The event ended in a riot after Rose dived off the stage, allegedly threw some punches then stormed off, taking his band with him. Within minutes, angry fans began pelting the stage with debris.

Before police restored order, 65 people were hurt, including Billy “Stump" Stephenson, the focus of Rose’s anger.

Stephenson, 28, of St. Louis is suing Rose. Stephenson says his back was injured when the singer jumped off the stage and landed on him. The civil suit seeks actual and punitive damages.

Rose’s attorney say the singer was trying to get a small 35mm camera Stephenson had used to take unauthorized photos.

Rose belly-flopped into the crowd to get the camera after security guards ignored his calls to seize it, defense lawyers said. Rose is expected to testify when the trial resumes this week.

Sheriff James Murphy said Friday that he didn’t want a riot in the courthouse like the '91 debacle.

As a result, Rose got special treatment. Private guards were allowed to hustle Rose into a basement door, sheriff's officials said. To get to the courtroom, Rose and his managers were allowed to use an elevator usually reserved for judges.

Husky guards with walkie-talkies walked ahead to make sure all was clear. Twin Lincolns were parked at different doors. One was for Rose. The other was a decoy to throw off fans. Officials said Rose had stayed at the Hotel Majestic a block from the courthouse.

Murphy said most defendants, “if they have any notoriety,” are allowed to use a basement entrance.

“The star that Rose is, we’re trying to avoid any problem in the lobby,” the sheriff added. Some courthouse employees groused about that.

"We couldn’t get our prisoners here for court appearances because all the deputies were involved with Axl Rose,” one employee said.

Said another, "They're just catering to him.”

Rose looked straight ahead as he walked from courthouse to car, speaking to no one.

During a break near the start of the trial on Thursday, however, he took a moment to greet a daughter of one of his lawyers, Allen S. Boston.

The daughter, Beth Boston, 16, and a friend, Mary Kuhl, also 16, cut school to meet the rock star.

Rose smiled and shook their hands. They smiled back, then scurried away, grinning at each other.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 19, 1993:




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Axl Rose In Flight ‘Freaked Out’ Biker

By Tim Bryant
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Billy “Stump” Stephenson testified Monday that when he went to the Guns Ν' Roses concert here two years ago he never expected to be hit by a flying Axl.

Stephenson contends he suffered a back injury when Axl Rose, leader of the heavy metal band, dived onto him off the stage at River-port Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights.

The concert was July 2, 1991.

Stephenson, 28, of St. Louis, is suing Rose, 31, in St. Louis Circuit Court.

Rose hurled himself off the stage after pointing at Stephenson and screaming at security guards to grab the small camera Stephenson was holding. Stephenson told jurors he had responded by handing the camera to a friend.

“As I’m turning back, I look up and Axl Rose is in flight, coming toward me,” Stephenson said. “He hit me on my right side, headfirst in a dive position.”

The two tumbled over the second row of chairs from the River-port stage and fell into an aisle, Stephenson said. He added that Rose had grabbed him with his left hand and started punching him.

“I was just freaked out,” Stephenson said. “I had been going to concerts so long, nothing like that ever happened to me.”

The tussle between Rose and Stephenson prompted the rock star to pull his band off the Riverport stage. The departure led to a riot that involved an estimated 3,000 people.

Under cross-examination Monday, Stephenson said he had not noticed signs banning cameras and other recording devices from Riverport concerts. But he acknowledged that he had assumed cameras were among items sought by security guards who patted down people entering the amphitheater.

In retrospect, Stephenson said he wished he had handed over the camera to security guards.

“I would’ve given up the camera rather than go through what I went through,” he said.

Stephenson testified he lost his job as a delivery driver because of his sore back and must now wear a brace when he rides his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He is a member of the Saddle Tramps motorcycle club.

Stephenson’s attorney, Mark I. Bronson, played for jurors a part of a videotape of the Guns Ν' Roses concert July 8, 1991, in Dallas. Rose told the audience there that several thousand people had "tried to kill” his crew the week before in St. Louis.

Rose sat quietly through Stephenson’s testimony. The rock star wore a purple jacket, black pants, black shirt and a purple tie.

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The Associated Press via The Springfield News Leader - October 19, 1993:



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LAWSUIT

Concert-goer: No thumbs-up from Axl

A former fan testified the rock singer was annoyed at an interruption and later attacked him.

“I was hoping for at least a thumbs-up.”
— William Stephenson

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Ill will between rock star Axl Rose and concert-goer William “Stump" Stephenson began several minutes before the men scuffled during a 1991 concert, Stephenson testified Monday.

Stephenson is suing Rose, lead singer of the band Guns Ν' Roses, for unspecified damages. It was the third day of testimony in the civil trial.

Stephenson claims Rose leaped onto him and punched him several times during a July 2,1991, concert at Riverport Amphitheatre. He said the attack by Rose, and a subsequent attack by Rose’s bodyguards, caused ear and back injuries.

Stephenson, 28, testified he and a friend pushed their way to the front of the stage. There, Stephenson held up a card bearing the name of his motorcycle club, the Saddle Tramps. Stephenson said he repeatedly yelled for Rose to take the card.

A videotape of the concert played earlier in the trial showed Rose appeared irritated by the interruption. He took the card and immediately tossed it aside.

“I was hoping for at least a thumbs-up," said Stephenson, who described himself as a frequent concert-goer.

Several minutes later, Rose became angry after spotting Stephenson taking photos of the band. The videotape showed him jump into the crowd. Guns N’ Roses does not allow unauthorized photos during concerts.

Rose’s attorneys say the singer neither landed on nor punched Stephenson. They say Rose simply grabbed Stephenson and held him for security officers.

The incident led to a riot in which 65 people were hurt, including 25 police officers, when Rose cut short the band’s show.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 20, 1993:



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Doctor Says Rose Didn’t Cause Injury

A doctor testified Tuesday that Billy “Stump" Stephenson appeared to have no lingering back trouble that could be laid to being flattened by singer Axl Rose.

Dr. Edwin E. Carter, an orthopedist at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, told jurors that the slight bulge in one of Stephenson’s spinal discs was likely a “degenerative phenomenon" resulting from an arthritic condition.

Carter was a witness for Rose, who is being sued by Stephenson, 28, of St. Louis. A damage suit against Rose alleges he dived onto Stephenson at the Guns Ν' Roses concert July 2, 1991, at the Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights. Rose. 31, is the band’s leader.

Stephenson is seeking damages for what he contends are back and knee injuries resulting from his encounter with Rose.

Carter, the doctor, said his review of Stephenson’s medical records showed "no real good evidence of significant injury."

The trial began last week in St. Louis Circuit Court. Rose might testify today.

Earlier testimony indicated that Rose had plunged off the stage to get a camera Stephenson had used to photograph the rock star.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 21, 1993:



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Plunge Wasn’t Roses, Rock Star Testifies

“When I watched the video, I thought, ‘White men can’t jump.’ I didn’t get very far out there."
AXL ROSE, testifying on his leap into Riverport crowd

By Tim Bryant
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

His deep voice filling the courtroom, Axl Rose testified Wednesday he had a right to dive off a stage to snatch a camera from a fan who scurried away "like a rat.”

The leader of the heavy metal band Guns N’ Roses also told jurors he came up short in his running leap.

"When I watched the video, I thought, ‘White men can’t jump,’ ” he said. "I didn't get very far out there.”

Rose drew laughter from courtroom spectators when he described how he interrupted the song "Rocket Queen” with a head-first “belly-smacker” off the stage at the Riverport Amphitheater.

Security was poor the night of a concert that ended in a riot, Rose said. Authorities estimated 3,000 people took part in the disturbance after Rose pulled his band off the stage July 2, 1991.

Rose, 31, of Los Angeles testified for nearly four hours in St. Louis Circuit Court.

The rock star was the final witness in the trial of a lawsuit that alleges he hurt Billy “Stump” Stephenson by diving on him. The case was expected to go to the jury today.

About 60 spectators were on hand to watch Rose in court. Wearing a bright green suit, he frequently sipped water while matter-of-factly describing his encounter with Stephenson, 28, of St. Louis.

Guns Ν' Roses was two months into a world tour when the band played at Riverport in Maryland Heights. About 90 minutes after the concert began, Rose noticed Stephenson with a small camera.

“I looked at the security at the front of the stage and said, 'Get that guy!’ ” Rose testified.

A guard only stared back at Rose, the rock star said. “This man made it obvious to me they weren’t going to do anything,” he said.

Rose said he wasn’t trying to land on Stephenson. He didn’t know that Stephenson had handed the camera to a friend.

Rose insisted the dive was no stunt.

"I wanted to get the camera,” he said "All I was going to do was detain” Stephenson "so he could be ejected.”

Cameras at Guns N’ Roses concerts are “a threat to my principles,” said Rose, adding that he worries about people selling unauthorized photos. Such pictures are "disrespectful to Guns N’ Roses.”

Rose said Stephenson was a moving target and that he should have looked more closely before leaping.

“I wasn’t sure where he was when I left the stage. On the way down, I saw him,” he said.

Stephenson testified earlier that Rose slammed him into some chairs, injuring Stephenson’s back and knees. He also alleges he suffered ear damage when Rose hit him in the head.

Rose admitted he landed on some chairs. “It hurt,” he said.

He lunged forward to grab Stephenson by his black leather motor-cycle vest. Stephenson is a member of the Saddle Tramps motorcycle club.

When he finally caught Stephenson, he was "squatting and scurrying like a rat," Rose said.

Describing how he burrowed through the crowd after Stephenson, Rose chuckled and said, “I was like a rat."

Spectators watched Rose stand in the middle of the courtroom to show jurors how he crouched over Stephenson and held him with one hand.

"Axl, did you strike the plaintiff?” asked Rose’s lawyer, Allen S. Boston.

"No, I did not," Rose said.

The fracas ended when security guards grabbed Stephenson and Rose's bodyguard took the star back to the stage. Rose then announced he was "going home” and left.

Rose said Wednesday he had been angry at Riverport security guards during much of the concert. He claimed he saw a guard shove a girl, then smirk at him as if to say, “What are you going to do about it?”

“The security wasn’t protecting us or the audience or anyone else that night,” Rose said.

Stephenson’s lawyer, Mark I. Bronson, played in slow motion the videotape of Rose’s 38-second foray into the crowd. Stephenson can’t be seen on the tape, but Rose is clearly shown slapping a security guard.

Bronson asked Rose about a recent Forbes magazine article that the lawyer said listed Guns N’ Roses as among the nation’s top-drawing entertainers. It ranks only behind only Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Bill Cosby, the article said.

Rose replied that keeping the band going takes lots of money. He said when he learned of the article, “I was like, 'Where’s the cash?’ ”

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Rose Tickles Ivories For Lunch Crowd

SIGHTEM: Lunch-time diners on the second floor of McGruder's Pub and Grub on Pine Street were treated to several classical piano selections on Monday from none other than Axl Rose.

A bevy of lawyers and staff members from the public defender’s office were there to celebrate boss Kevin Curran's natal day, when the infamous rocker appeared, surrounded by bodyguards and lawyers. While waiting for his food. Rose got up and played a piano near his table.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 22, 1993:




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Axl Rose Settles Suit On An Upbeat Note

By Tim Bryant
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Billy "Stump'' Stephenson wanted more than $2 million in damages from rock star Axl Rose.

When his suit was settled Thursday. Stephenson got what Rose, the leader of the heavy metal band Guns N’ Roses, called "a very minimal figure" — and an autograph.

Both men said they were happy with the agreement and declined to reveal the terms. The court settlement ended yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of Axl Rose and his riotous concert two years ago at the Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights.

Stephenson. 28, of St. Louis, had sued Rose for injuries to his back and ear, which he claimed he suffered when Rose dived onto him from the stage at the Guns Ν' Roses concert July 2, 1991.

Jurors deliberated for about three hours Thursday before Judge Anna C. Forder announced the case was settled. Afterward, several jurors crowded around Rose for autographs.

Stephenson got one, too.

Inside the back cover of Stephenson’s rock concert scrapbook, Rose scrawled, “Stump Axl Gn’R 93.”

As he left the Civil Courts Building, Rose, 31, said he “didn’t know what to think” of Stephenson’s request for an autograph.

“It was pretty wild to me," Rose said.

Stephenson testified at the six-day trial that Rose had hit him.

Rose testified he went after Stephenson to get a small camera that the fan had used to take unauthorized photographs.

The concert ended in a riot after Rose criticized security and pulled his band off the stage at Riverport. Authorities estimated that 3,000 people had taken part in the disturbance, which heavily damaged the amphitheater and the band’s equipment.

Rose said Thursday that he and his band were “trying to figure out how to come back to St. Louis to play.” That’s a change from the pretrial days when the singer criticized the city.

Rose, of Los Angeles, said he might cut back on his concert antics. Rose’s stage dives usually are choreographed to end in the outstretched arms of security guards.

“I won’t be diving so much,” Rose said, smiling. “I can’t have as much fun, like the kids.”

Stephenson said he was glad it was all over. He and Rose “can now get on with our lives,” Stephenson added.

Rose heads one of the world’s biggest entertainment draws. Stephenson drives a forklift for a distillery.

One juror, Richard Marler, said that jurors had decided to award Stephenson some money but had not settled on how much. “We were going hot and heavy there,” Marler said.

Stephenson started out demanding more than $2 million. His lawyer, Mark I. Bronson, asked jurors in his closing argument Thursday to return a judgment of $160,000.

About a dozen Axl Rose fans showed up for the last day of the trial.

When some approached the singer for an autograph, sheriff’s deputies shooed them away.

Guns N’ Roses was two months into a world tour when the band played at Riverport. About 90 minutes after the concert began, Rose noticed Stephenson with a camera.

Rose testified Wednesday that he dived to get Stephenson’s camera, not to hurt him.

The singer said Thursday that he did not know how the settlement might affect the approximately 10 additional civil suits that grew out of the riot. The plaintiffs include a security guard who testified for Stephenson.

Rose got two years’ probation in a criminal case last year in St. Louis County Circuit Court. A judge found Rose guilty of four counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of misdemeanor property damage.

The judge accepted an agreement between prosecutors and Rose’s lawyer, Arthur S. Margulis, for the rock star to pay $50,000 to five local charities. Margulis said Rose had sent $10,000 to each of the charities.
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Caption: Rock star Axl Rose leaving the Civil Courts building Thursday afternoon. Rose expressed relief that the suit against him was settled. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - October 29, 1993:



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Rose’s ‘Minimal’ Sum May Exceed $160,000

What strikes Axl Rose as a "very minimal amount" may seem otherwise to Billy "Stump" Stephenson, the fellow who sued the lead singer of Guns Ν' Roses.

Mark I. Bronson, Stephenson’s attorney, initially asked for $2 million for his client, who alleges that his lower back and ear were injured when Rose dove off the stage in a concert in July at Riverport Amphitheatre.

Bronson says now that Stephenson got "somewhere between $160,000 and $2 million." Bronson said he was bound by the agreement not to disclose the specific amount. Rose said on Oct. 21 — the day of the agreement — that the settlement was a "very minimal amount."

Allen S. Boston, Rose’s lawyer, said Thursday that the amount of the settlement was "confidential and cannot be disclosed."

The civil case, in St. Louis Circuit Court was settled three hours after the jury began deliberating.