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Punch in bathroom leads to lawsuit

By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published December 3, 2005

TAMPA - The nurse who got a shiner in the bathroom of a Channelside night spot on Nov. 6 has sued a former 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 and 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 Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in North Carolina, declined to comment, because neither he nor Thomas had seen the lawsuit. Attempts to reach Thomas were unsuccessful.

[Last modified December 3, 2005, 01:21:14]