Arrests anticipated following New Year's fight at Moonlight

Talk about it

Authorities say two people were hospitalized with severe but non-life-threatening injuries following an early morning brawl on New Year’s Day outside the Moonlight Bar and Lounge in Mitchell.

At least 14 people were involved in the fight, which Davison County Chief Deputy Steve Brink said started inside the Moonlight Bar and escalated outside in an alley behind the building, located at 413 N. Main St.

The Davison County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the scene at 1:42 a.m. Tuesday, according to a police log. Mitchell police were busy with other calls.

Those involved had dispersed by the time law enforcement arrived, which forced investigators to piece together the incident using information from interviews with witnesses and some of the people involved, Brink said.

“We don’t have the whole story yet,” he said.

The number of people thought to have been involved could go up as the investigation continues, Brink said. It is possible that bricks were used as weapons during the altercation.

No arrests had been made by Wednesday afternoon, but multiple arrests could be made in the case.

The names of suspects and victims are not yet being released. The hospitalized victims have been treated and released, Brink said.

At 1:20 a.m., less than half an hour before the brawl, the Mitchell Police Division and Davison County Sheriff’s Office responded to another report of an assault at the Moonlight Bar, but Mitchell Police Detective Lt. Don Everson said the incident was nothing more than a shouting match and is not believed to be related to the later incident.

Tags: news, updates, crime, assault, local, mitchell, bar, fight