Trial for downtown Myrtle Beach club shooting takes odd turn. Here is why it’s now over
A man admitted to firing shots in a downtown Myrtle Beach nightclub and will now serve nearly a decade in prison.
In an unusual move, Cleavon Oneal Dantzler decided to change his plea in the middle of his trial on Wednesday and admitted to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Judge Steven John sentenced Dantzler to eight years in prison, lawyers for the state and defense confirmed.
The plea came after one day of testimony in the trial, which included the jury seeing surveillance video from inside Pure Ultra nightclub on Nov. 5, 2017.
Prosecutors said people were having fun inside the club when Dantzler pulled out a gun and started to shoot. Five people were injured in the incident.
“He made a deliberate act of pulling a gun out of his pocket and firing into a crowd of people,” Assistant Solicitor Seth Oskin said during Monday’s opening arguments.
During opening statements, Dantzler’s attorney James Galmore told the jury there was no evidence in the case and that no witnesses saw Dantzler pull the gun.
Pure Ultra was located in the area known as the Myrtle Beach Superblock. The club closed after the shooting, and Myrtle Beach changed its ordinances to mandate earlier bar closings.
As a result of the plea, the state dropped charges of attempted murder, an additional count of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and being a person prohibited from having a gun.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 11:18 AM.
