Woman Sues Tuscaloosa's CRU Lounge, Says She Was Attacked There

Legal woes continued at the still-new CRU Lounge in southern Tuscaloosa after a woman filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming that she was attacked there the night security at the lounge beat and fatally shot another patron there,

The Thread has already reported on the deadly shooting and the arrest of CRU security guard Aaron Hill, who has been charged with the murder of 28-year-old Rashid Little.

At the time Hill was arrested, police also arrested 47-year-old Thyais Walker, who was charged with illegally possessing a pistol because she is reportedly a felon.

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Hill remains jailed without bond, which was denied by District Judge Joanne Jannik, who said he was already wanted for a series of drug charges in Bibb County at the time of the shooting and was also on probation for an unrelated misdemeanor case.

She also said he attempted to elude police when they came for him after the CRU shooting, and that he is both a flight risk and a danger to the community.

The deadly violence already threatens to close CRU for good, as the Tuscaloosa City Council is set to decide whether to revoke their business license next week.

Now, new legal woes emerged for the hookah lounge Wednesday when a Tuscaloosa woman filed a four-count lawsuit claiming she was attacked and beaten at CRU by Thyais Walker, the woman who was arrested with Hill, on the night Little was killed.

Without elaborating much on the details, the plaintiff, a Tuscaloosa woman named Jimmonica Williams, said she was standing outside of CRU on January 21st, the night of the murder, when Thyais Walker "physically attacked" her, "causing severe injuries."

Williams accuses Walker of assault and battery and also said in the lawsuit that up to 10 other, currently unidentified defendants joined in on beating her. The plaintiff said in her complaint that she believes the others who assaulted her were employees or agents at CRU.

While it is likely impossible to independently verify those claims, video shot inside the club and shared after Little was killed did show several people involved in the altercation inside who were throwing punches and kicks.

Count three of the suit accuses CRU ownership of negligence for hiring Hill and any other agent or guard who joined in the violence, and count four accuses them of wantonness.

The plaintiff, Williams, demands compensatory and punitive damages against CRU, Aaron Hill, Tyais Walker and anyone else who was involved in the alleged attack or the hiring and vetting of security at the club that night.

For more on the murder case, the council action and this lawsuit as they develop, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.