An Atlantic City councilman pleaded not guilty to complaints stemming from a fight outside a casino nightclub.
Jeffree Fauntleroy appeared briefly before North Wildwood Municipal Court Judge Louis Belasco, who was assigned the case after the Attorney General's Office conflicted it out of Atlantic County.
Without a lawyer, Fauntleroy heard the charges against him, including harassment and simple assault. He then told the judge, "Not guilty."
A new court date will now be set, the judge explained.
Mayor Frank Gilliam — who also faces simple assault and harassment complaints — did not appear in court. Instead, Gilliam's attorney entered a not guilty plea through a letter sent to the court, Belasco said.
The attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The fight was caught on Golden Nugget video surveillance outside the Haven nightclub.
Before confirmation of the charges and the fight emerged, both men denied anything happened at the Haven Nightclub.
"No, besides people (having) a verbal disagreement," Gilliam said in a text to BreakingAC at the time. "What do I look like as the mayor of a city assaulting anyone?"
In the video, Fauntleroy appears to throw a man to the ground and then take a fighting stance. Gilliam at one point swings several times at a man backing away from him. The man then swings back, with Gilliam falling briefly and then getting up and chasing the man around cars.
The attorney general had the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office look into the case to avoid any conflict with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
The office decided not to file any criminal charges. The municipal case was then transferred to North Wildwood.
