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Tampa woman sues Panthers cheerleader
The USF student is seeking damages for the black eye she suffered in the bathroom of a Channelside night club.
By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published December 2, 2005
TAMPA - The nurse who got a shiner in the bathroom of a Channelside night spot on Nov. 6 has sued a Carolina Panthers cheerleader for the punch.
Melissa Holden, 26, of Tampa filed a lawsuit Friday against Victoria Renee Thomas.
Thomas, according to police, had been in a bathroom stall at 615 Channelside Drive with another cheerleader, Angela Keathley, who was not named in the lawsuit. The cheerleaders emerged after other patrons yelled at them, at which point Thomas punched Holden, police said.
Holden, represented by Tampa attorneys Jose Toledo and Erik Gillespie, said Thomas "intentionally, willfully and maliciously assaulted and battered" her. Holden, a University of South Florida student who works as a nurse, seeks more than $15,000 for her injuries.
"I've been humiliated," she said Friday in an interview. "People assume I have a boyfriend or a husband who beat me up."
Thomas, 20, of Pittsboro, N.C., faces a battery charge and two other charges relating to false identity. At the time of her arrest, she identified herself as another cheerleader on the team, police said. Her arraignment is Jan. 15.
Keathley, 26, of Belmont, N.C., faces charges of obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct. Her arraignment is Monday.
Police said the trouble began when Thomas and Keathley tied up a restroom stall while having sex with each other at the restaurant and bar complex Margarita Mama's and Banana Joe's.
Thomas later denied that she was having sex in the bathroom.
She and Keathley, who have since been fired from the "Topcats" cheerleading squad, were among a few cheerleaders who had made a trip to Tampa on their own. The squad is on the sideline only at home games.
Thomas' attorney William Bunting Jr. of Shoomaker Loop & Kendrick in North Carolina declined to comment, since neither he nor Thomas had seen the lawsuit. Attempts to reach Thomas were unsuccessful.
[Last modified December 2, 2005, 18:07:02]
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