New charges detail melee at Salt Lake's Green Street

New information revealed in court documents about a melee inside Green Street that resulted in a man being shot by an off-duty deputy paints a chaotic picture — and the chaos continued even after the shooting.

Rudy Chacon, a veteran narcotics detective for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, was cleared of any wrongdoing Thursday by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office for shooting John Junior "JJ" Pikula in the torso.

On Sept. 18, Pikula was attending his bachelor party at Green Street Social Club, 602 E. 500 South, with a group of friends. Chacon was also at the club with another group.

After several confrontations between the two groups and attempts by security to either move Pikula's group to a different side of the club or escort them out, Pikula slammed Chacon's brother into a wall, forced him to the ground and then struck the brother "multiple times in the head and face while the brother lay motionless on the ground," according to the DA's office.

Fearing for his brother's life, Chacon shot Pikula once in the torso. Prosecutors ruled Thursday that the shooting was in self defense.

Because of the incident at Green Street, Arnold Pikula, JJ's brother, was charged by the Salt Lake City Prosecutor's Office with three misdemeanors, including sexual battery, assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Prior to the shooting, prosecutors say, a group of men, including Arnold Pikula, were hitting on several women in the bar. Pikula asked a woman to dance with him, but she refused. He then attempted to kiss her, but she walked away, the charges against him state.

After the woman sat down, hewalked over to her and put his hand on one of the woman's breasts, according to the charges. That was when security officers made their first attempt to move JJ Pikula's group to another part of the club.

JJ Pikula grabbed a bottle and went after a person in Chacon's group, according to court documents. Security then tried to escort JJ Pikula out. That's when he broke away and attacked Chacon's brother and was shot.

Court documents reveal that even after the shooting, the violence did not end.

When police arrived at the club after the shooting, they found a group of people gathered around a person lying on the floor. The officers asked the men to move, but they resisted, according to the charges.

"(Arnold) Pikula then struck officer Shupe with a closed fist on the left side of the jaw, causing him to fall backwards," the charges state.

Several officers tried to handcuff Arnold Pikula, but prosecutors say he continued to struggle with them.

A pretrial conference for Pikula is scheduled for Tuesday.

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com