Owner of helicopter business, Broadway comedy club facing another assault allegation
The owner of two Myrtle Beach-area businesses could be facing assault charges for a second time in as many months after his former employee told police he was punched.
Freddie Rick, who recently purchased Carolina Comedy Club in Broadway at the Beach, was arrested in August and charged with assault and battery of high and aggravated nature from allegedly hitting a security guard with his vehicle after being told he couldn’t go past a barricade.
Rick also owns Helicopter Adventures, and Horry County police responded there Sept. 10 for an alleged assault and were told that the boss “hit an employee in his right ear with a left hand,” according to an incident report.
Rick isn’t specifically named in the report, and HCPD spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov noted that this case remains an active investigation with no one charged at this time. The man listed as the victim in the report told The Sun News that Rick is the person who punched him.
Robert Adams, who said he was a pilot with Helicopter Adventures since April, had been having discussions for about a month with the business’ general manager about quitting when he was called into Rick’s office during an off day, he said.
Adams told The Sun News that he’d signed an 18-month contract, but he decided he wanted to leave due to Rick and general manager Justin Swanson constantly berating and cursing at employees, mostly for not doing enough to help promote the comedy club.
There’s a stipulation in the contract that states the pilot must pay $25,000 if they leave early. Rick told Adams that he couldn’t break the contract without paying him, and the meeting quickly turned volatile, according to Adams.
When Adams stood up to leave, Rick blocked the doorway and punched him in the ear while yelling at him, he said. Adams said he then threatened to call the cops, but Rick continued to block him from exiting his office for more than a half hour until Adams started screaming toward the hallway, asking for someone to call 911.
After leaving and calling police, Adams said he was initially worried most about his ear, which was ringing and bleeding, but then his jaw started throbbing. An urgent care doctor told him he might have suffered a fractured jaw and sent him to get a CT scan. He’s still awaiting those results, but he said he doesn’t think it’s fractured because it’s been feeling better lately.
Adams, who has retained an attorney with plans to file a civil suit, said he hopes police end up charging Rick with assault and that other pilots hear about the incident.
Rick and Swanson did not return requests for comment. The police report notes that they made contact with the boss and general manager, but their statements are not included.
2014 arrest
This isn’t the first time Rick has been accused of engaging in a physical confrontations with one of his employees.
Andrew Bajwa, who said he was a pilot for Helicopter Adventures in 2014, referred to Rick as “a person who operates on rage and anger.” He recalled seeing his former boss led away in handcuffs after fighting with one of Bajwa’s fellow pilots.
Charges from the 2014 incident are not available on the Horry County Public Index and don’t show up in a SLED background check for Rick, but HCPD still have a police report detailing the fight. The 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office also had no record available from the incident, declining to acknowledge whether charges may have been dropped or expunged, according to a spokeswoman.
Both Rick and the employee Brandon Whitehead were arrested and charged with assault, according to the report from July 25, 2014.
The report details finding the two at Helicopter Adventures with Rick suffering from a bloody nose, small lacerations and scratched hands and knees, while Whitehead had a swollen right eye and several other scrapes and scratches.
Police interviewed both at the scene, and they agreed that the altercation began over questions involving Rick allegedly garnishing tips, and Rick telling Whitehead it was time to “part ways,” according to the report.
Their stories then diverged, with Rick alleging that Whitehead became aggressive and punched him, continuing to hit him until Rick was able to put Whitehead in a head lock and push his finger into his right eye, the report states.
Whitehead stated that the altercation escalated after he told Rick that he didn’t believe many employees would stay because of the way they were being treated, which caused Rick to make an aggressive action toward him, which caused Whitehead to trip, and then Rick started “gouging at his eye,” according to the report. Whitehead told police he then hit Rick in the face to try to stop the gouging until other employees came in to separate them.
