New Orleans Bouncer Acquitted In Student's Death

A Louisiana jury has acquitted a New Orleans bouncer in the New Year's Eve 2004 death of a Georgia college student during a melee outside a Bourbon Street club.

Arthur Irons, 43, of Slidell, the first of four bouncers to go to trial, was found not guilty in the asphyxiation death of 26-year-old Levon Jones, a Georgia Southern University student who was in New Orleans for a flag football tournament. Two friends were barred from Razzoo Bar & Patio for not meeting the dress code.

Witnesses that Jones ended up pinned face down on the sidewalk, held by the four bouncers, and that he resisted being handcuffed by police. The coroner ruled Jones' death a homicide.

One bouncer testified that Jones started the melee by sucker punching Irons in the face. Irons took the stand this morning, and the Times-Picayune provided live coverage.