All three men accused of beating a Pleasantville man outside a strip club will remain in jail for now.
Jamaul Timberlake and brothers Garnell and John Hands are accused of punching, kicking, and pummeling Irving Mayren-Guzman outside Centerfolds early Jan. 23.
Mayren-Guzman, 19, disappeared after the attack and was found dead two days later in the marsh off Delilah Road, not far from the club.
The men have not been charged in Mayren-Guzman’s death. Autopsy results are still pending. No cause or manner of death has been released.
But preliminary findings have not found any evidence connecting the beating to the teen’s death, according to information released during detention hearings for the men.
There were bruises on his face and scrapes to his knees, but no signs of trauma to his head, parts of the report read in court said.
Mayren-Guzman was thrown out of the club after defecating on the floor of the bathroom, trying to steal from the tip jar, and throwing money at the dancers, John Hands’ defense attorney said in court, reading from the reports the state provided to him.
He also was smoking marijuana inside, the reports read, attorney Matthew Portella said. He also knocked over the register as he was taken out by security.
Toxicology results are pending in the case.
Surveillance video shows Mayren-Guzman being escorted out by club security and then getting into an argument with Garnell Hands Jr., 29, according to the affidavit.
John Hands, 24, and Timberlake, 30, then allegedly punch the victim. Once Mayren-Guzman is on the ground, Timberlake allegedly kicks him several times in the face and body.
Portella said Thursday that his client reacted in self-defense after Mayren-Guzman pulled his hoodie.
But no matter how the teen acted, he “in no way deserved this violent assault against him,” Assistant Prosecutor Gina DeAnnuntis told Judge Bernard DeLury.
“He was in no way an innocent bystander here who simply defended himself,” she said.
Character letters that paint him as “caring and a gentle giant … do not line up with the actions of this defendant,” DeAnnuntis added.
She also alleged Hands laughed during the hearing in a case where “the victim was assaulted and later found deceased.”
“I don’t see my client laughing,” Portella said, noting his client who appeared in video from the jail, was wearing a face mask.
Garnell Hands also had his detention hearing Thursday but did not contest the state’s motion since he already is jailed on a drug court detainer.
Timberlake was ordered held Friday during a detention hearing before Judge Todd Miller.
But an appeal has been filed in that case, with the defense attorney noting that Miller seemed to consider Mayren-Guzman’s death in his decision, even though Timberlake is not charged with that.
Miller said that if the results indicate it was severe intoxication that caused the teen’s death and Timberlake had no involvement, another detention hearing could be held.
The public safety assessments used to help determine detention under bail reform recommended the defendants’ release.
