Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Brian Hickerson Detained in SC Bar Brawl Weeks After Hayden Panettiere’s Death | Crime Alert 09.14.26

Transcript

Brian Hickerson Detained in SC Bar Brawl Weeks After Hayden Panettiere’s Death | Crime Alert 09.14.26 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Sydney Silvani.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: We begin with new trouble surrounding Brian Hickerson, the on-again,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: off-again boyfriend of late actress Hayden Panettiere. Hickerson found himself
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in handcuffs Saturday night following a brawl at a restaurant
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: in Greenville, South Carolina. According to reports first broken by TMZ,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: the 37-year-old was detained at the Wild Wing Cafe after
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: allegedly causing a scene inside. Sources tell TMZ that Brian
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: and his brother, Zach Hickerson, had been drinking at the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: restaurant bar for hours when an argument broke out between
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Brian and another patron. Witnesses say Brian threw a bar
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: stool backward into the crowd. Video obtained by TMZ shows
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: an individual wrapping their arms around Brian from behind and
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: carrying him out of the building while a bartender repeatedly shouts,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: let him go. Greenville police were called following reports of
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: an active assault. Outside, video circulating on social media captured
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: a handcuffed Brian sitting on a curb shouting at officers.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Hickerson accused the Department of leaking information regarding to the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: August 16th death of Panettiere, shouting, GPD leaked it when
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: my girlfriend died. While Brian was released without charges, police
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: allege his brother, Zach, was highly intoxicated and shouting profanities,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: leading to Zach's arrest for disorderly conduct. This scene comes
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: less than a month after 36-year-old Hayden Panettiere was found
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: dead inside a Greenville home. According to police reports, both
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Brian and Zach were present at the residence on August 16th.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Zach later told investigators he went to the home after
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: failing to reach either Brian or Panettiere, where he woke
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Brian and realized the actress was unresponsive. While Zach dialed 911,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Brian administered Narcan and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Panettiere's
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: cause and manner of death remain under investigation pending toxicology results.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Hickerson's stormy relationship with Panettiere began in 2018 and was
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: marked by repeated law enforcement intervention. Bryan was arrested on
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: domestic violence charges in 2019 and 2020, eventually pleading no
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: contest in 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a partner,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: resulting in jail time, probation, and domestic violence classes. More
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: crime and justice news after this. In Ohio, a former
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: attorney and prosecutor has been convicted of attempted murder following
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: a point blank shooting attempt targeting his ex-wife inside a
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: crowded Toledo restaurant. The Lucas County Prosecutor's Office reports that
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: on April 11, 2025, 43-year-old Matthew Exton spotted his ex-wife,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Kata Malone, dining with her parents at Sabira Restaurant while
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Exton was having a drink nearby at Souk. According to prosecutors,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Exton entered Sabira, ordered a drink for Malone's table, spat
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: in their direction, and walked out. Chilling surveillance video shows
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Exton returning armed with a handgun. He walked directly up
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: to Malone, thrust the gun within point-blank range of her head,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: and pulled the trigger. Malone threw her hands up to
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: shield her face as the hammer fell, but the gun
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: failed to fire because the safety was engaged. Before Exton
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: could pull the trigger again, a waiter tackled him from behind.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Authorities confirmed the weapon had a live round chambered and
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: seven additional bullets in the magazine. Lucas County Prosecuting Attorney
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Julia Bates commended the brave restaurant staff and patrons who
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: stepped in, calling their actions heroic. On September 4th, a
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: jury found Exton guilty of attempted murder and two counts
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: of felonious assault relating to Malone's parents, Jeannie and Charles Malone,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: along with firearm specifications. The trial concluded with a dramatic
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: courtroom outburst from Exton. Prosecutors had introduced a threatening voicemail
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Exton left for Malone before the attack, referencing the Johnny
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Cash song, God's Gonna Cut You Down. As closing arguments
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: highlighted the message as evidence of premeditation, Exton snapped, screaming
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: the lyrics at the court as officers physically wrestled him out.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: As officers removed him, Exton made a gun gesture with
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: his fingers, pointing directly at Assistant Prosecutor Rose Mock. Exton
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: is scheduled for sentencing on September 21, 2026. Turning to
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Southern California, authorities are investigating a security breach at the
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Malibu residence of former Vice President Kamala Harris and second
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: gentleman Doug Emhoff. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirms
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: deputies responded to the property around 10.30 p.m. Friday, September 11,
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: after security reported a suspicious person outside. Deputies arrived on scene,
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: made contact with security, and warned the individual, who left voluntarily,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: without incident. Eduardo Negron, a spokesperson for Harris, confirmed in
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: a statement that private security personnel stopped the individual before
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: they could reach the main house. Neither Harris nor Emhoff
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: were present. The incident highlights growing concerns over security for
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: former high-ranking officials. Under a 2008 law, former vice presidents
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: receive federal Secret Service protection for six months post-term. While
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: former President Joe Biden granted an 18-month extension for Harris' protection,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump revotes that extension in an executive memorandum
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: effective September 1, 2025, forcing Harris to rely on private security.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: For more crime and justice news, be sure to join
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: us for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Fox 1, YouTube, SiriusXM,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: and now streaming on Tubi. With this crime alert, I'm
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Sydney Silvani.