Three Wilmington bouncers arrested after early morning fight

Three bouncers at a downtown Wilmington bar were arrested following an early morning bar fight. It happened at Sidebar, on Front Street, around 2:00 a.m.

Officers said they got there just in time to see a bouncer push a male patron out the door so hard, he flew in the air and landed on his back, hitting his head on the sidewalk. The 20-year-old man suffered serious injuries to his face. Witnesses said the patron was in a fight, and the bouncers were trying to break it up.

This has other downtown bars and restaurants taking extra precautions to keep their patrons safe. “If there is an incident inside, we try to keep it out as quickly as possible and try to keep people that are causing trouble away from people who are trying to have a good time,” said Front Street Brewery manager Seth Westberry. “Once it gets outside there are no further issues.”

The three bouncers were charged with assault with a deadly weapon. James Butler, Stephen Fox, and Cedric Simpson are all out of jail on bond.