Man arrested in Comedy House attack

Authorities on Wednesday charged a man with attacking a comedian with a microphone stand during his performance at a South Carolina comedy club.

Marvin Toatley, 28, is charged with three counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and one count each of third-degree assault and battery and malicious injury to property, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said during a news conference Wednesday. He remained jailed Wednesday afternoon under $65,000 bond, according to court records.

The violent incident unfolded Sunday night at the Comedy House on Decker Boulevard in Columbia, during comedian Steve Brown’s act.

Lott said Toatley “just lost his control” on Sunday when Brown appeared to pick at him during the show.

“When you go to a place like the Comedy House, understand that sometimes you're going to get picked at,” Lott said. “It's not personal, I don't believe. It's just part of their show.”

The incident started when Brown spotted an audience member who just didn’t seem to be enjoying the routine on Sunday.

“I just remember the comedian asked the guy what was his problem,” said Tumika LaSha, who filmed the incident in a now-rival video. “The comedian asked, ‘what’s wrong?’ He just shook his head like, move on to somebody else.”

LaSha posted a video of the incident to Facebook that has more than 2 million views and 25,000 shares as of Wednesday morning.

She recalled Brown asking the audience member – now identified as Toatley – why he came to a comedy show, if he wasn’t going to laugh. Then, the man got mad.

LaSha’s video shows Toatley swinging at Brown and missing. He then grabs the microphone stand and swings at Brown, eventually hitting Brown with the stand. Two men then run onto the stage to break up the assault.

Security chased the attacker as he fled the club, but deputies instructed them to end their chase for safety reasons, according to the incident report.

Two other people were injured by the base of the mic stand, which flew into the crowd when Brown’s attacker swung the stand, according to the report. A club security guard was also punched in the face by Brown’s attacker. A fourth victim, a woman, reported an injury to her foot.

Toatley was twice arrested by Columbia police in 2008 on felony charges of carjacking without great bodily harm, according to State Law Enforcement Division records. The SLED records do not indicate the sentence but state that he began probation in March 2009.

Lott said Toatley did not turn himself in, and that the sheriff’s department’s fugitive team had to find him at his Irmo home Wednesday morning.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the three aggravated assault charges. Third-degree assault and battery is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum 30-day jail sentence.

“I thank God for looking out for me and giving (me) the ability to bob and weave because this could have ended in horrible way,” Brown said in an Instagram post that has since been deleted. In that post, Brown called the attack a “reminder of why these comedy clubs should all be well equipped with professional security to protect us entertainers who bring their club so much money.”

Brown declined an interview when reached by a reporter from The State.

“I want to hold off until I speak with my attorney,” he said in an email.

Several of Brown’s Instagram posts since Sunday reference the incident, including one post Wednesday morning that says, “Steve Brown ‘I need security!’ tour coming soon...”

Lott batted down public criticism of the perceived lack of security at the comedy club, which he said regularly has plain-clothed security personnel during shows.

“The Comedy House is not at fault with anything,” he said. “They run a good place there. They have security. We don't have any problems there.”

Lott said he has attended shows at the club, and that comedians often call out or pick on audience members.

“It could have happened anywhere,” he said. “Someone in the crowd just doesn’t like being picked on a little bit. You’ve got to have tough skin.”

A woman who answered the phone at the club Wednesday said the business is not commenting while the case is under investigation.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Man arrested in Comedy House attack."