Victims of two 2015 Plaza beatings pursue lawsuits over brain injuries

Two men who received severe brain injuries in separate but related beatings outside Country Club Plaza restaurants in 2015 are still suffering from the attacks, according to lawsuits the men filed against their attackers and the Plaza.

One man, punched and knocked down after being thrown out of The Granfalloon restaurant, reported seizures, brain hemorrhage, hearing problems and loss of smell. Another, reportedly sucker-punched and stomped outside Zócalo a week later, was knocked out with a concussion and is still recovering from multiple facial fractures and damage to his right eye.

In each case, the victims were among groups of men thrown out of the restaurants after midnight when fights appeared ready to break out.

One alleged assailant faces criminal charges and civil lawsuits in both incidents. Justin S. Polson, 28, of Overland Park, is charged with two counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault. He’s also a defendant in the lawsuits filed by both victims, along with the two restaurants, the Plaza’s owners and its security service.

Attorneys representing the parties to the lawsuits declined to comment for this story.

Two other men were charged in the Zócalo assault on Sept. 19, 2015. One, Antonio D. Stuckey, pleaded guilty earlier this month to two assault charges. He was sentenced Jan. 6 to two years of probation. Charges were dropped against the other man.

Polson is the only person charged in the previous assault, at The Granfalloon on Sept. 12, 2015.

According to court documents, the incident at The Granfalloon began shortly after 2 a.m. when two groups of men were removed from the restaurant for arguing. Once outside, witnesses told police, one man punched another in the chin. The man who was struck fell back, hitting his head on the pavement. He spent several weeks in a hospital with a brain injury.

The man who punched the victim drove away in a Porsche, and a witness noted the car’s license plate. Police linked the car to Polson. Polson and Stuckey are both defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by the victim.

The second incident, at Zócalo, also started with two groups of men asked to leave after a dispute at the bar. Outside, one group of men reportedly beat and stomped a man in the parking lot.

Polson and Stuckey were charged with taking part in the beating. The victim was treated at a hospital for a severe brain injury, a skull fracture and multiple facial fractures, leaving him in intensive care for six days.

Prosecutors said Stuckey’s credit card was used in the restaurant. Once arrested, according to court documents, Stuckey named Polson as being one of those involved in the fight.

Polson is scheduled to go to trial April 27.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Victims of two 2015 Plaza beatings pursue lawsuits over brain injuries."