HOUSTON – The man police say is responsible for attacking a bar worker who asked him to put on a mask, appeared in court Thursday afternoon.
Patrick Kelly, 32, was wearing his mask properly during his probable cause hearing where he heard the charges against him which include misdemeanor assault and a cocaine possession charge.
Court testimony revealed that Kelly was in possession of a white powdery substance, believed to be cocaine, when he was arrested during a traffic stop Thursday. He was wearing Southwest Airline’s coveralls, according to documents read during the hearing.
He was scheduled to be released from jail later Friday after receiving personal bonds in the total amount of $2,000.
Bond conditions included no contact with the bar, the victim in the case, and a curfew.
Earlier in the day, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo shared a tweet saying the suspect had been “apprehended and charged with assault and bodily injury.”
Joshua Vaughan was working at Grand Prize Bar in the Museum District Monday night when, according to the bar manager, the man became angry after Vaughan reminded him about wearing a mask. The manager said the man attacked the worker as he was coming out of the bathroom.
According to an arrest warrant, Vaughan asked Kelly to wear his mask at least five times before Kelly hit Vaughan over the head with a glass.
“I went to go tell him that we were gonna have to ask him to leave if he can’t keep his mask on,” Vaughan said. “He came out of the bathroom and in the middle of that sentence, without saying anything just smashed me with the glass and ran.”
Lindsay Beale, general manager of Grand Prize Bar, said everything happed so fast there was hardly any time to react.
Vaughan suffered several cuts to his head and was rushed to Ben Taub Hospital and left with 10 stitches in his head.
Despite his visible injuries, Vaughan said he is thankful.
“Other than a kinda constant headache, it’s not as bad as it could’ve been so I’m thankful for that,” said Josh Vaughan. “(Christmas is) going to be different, but I’m just going to try to relax and be thankful.”
Vaughan plans to return to work this weekend.
