Brian Hickerson was detained after a Saturday night fight inside Wild Wing Cafe in Greenville, S.C., then later let go without charges while his brother Zach was arrested and taken to the Greenville County Detention Center. The encounter put Hickerson back in the middle of a public police response that ended with one brother walking free and the other facing a disorderly conduct charge.
Officers responded to reports of an assault inside the Wild Wing Cafe and found Brian Hickerson and Zach in an altercation with several other patrons. That is why the search around Hayden Panettiere boyfriend Brian Hickerson detained is drawing attention now: it was not a private dispute, but a public scene that led to police action on Saturday night and then split outcomes for the two brothers.
Zach was the one police described as highly intoxicated, a finding that helped drive the arrest. Brian, by contrast, was not charged, even after being held during the incident. In a separate video from inside the bar, he was seen throwing a chair backwards while people around him called for him to stop, and he was also captured on video yelling, “GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died.”
That reference points back to Panettiere, who died in Greenville, S.C., on Aug. 16 at age 36, five days before her 37th birthday. The Hickerson brothers were with her when she died, and authorities later said the preliminary investigation into her death had not shown signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. A police incident report said Hickerson showed officers a bag of medication, and his attorney said, “Hayden's death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed.”
The unanswered part is what started the altercation inside the Wild Wing Cafe. What is clear is the result: Brian Hickerson was detained in public, then released without charges, while Zach was arrested, booked on disorderly conduct and transported to the Greenville County Detention Center. For now, the case leaves one man free, one man in custody, and a death still under investigation hanging over both of them.
