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2 brothers die in shooting at St. Cloud bar
James Kun, 23, and Joel Kun, 21, are dead. Jason Clair, 28, charged with first-degree murder.
June 29, 2011|By Henry Pierson Curtis and Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel
Jason Clair__Jason Clair__James Kun__Joel Kun
ST. CLOUD — Moments after the Kun brothers were gunned down late Tuesday, their mother rushed to her dying sons.
She found herself staring into the gun of a man identified by more than a dozen witnesses as the one who shot her boys, St. Cloud police said.
"Do you want some, too?" Jason Clair asked her before at least six men in the crowd outside Len'z Dug-Out Pub on 13th Street beat him and took away his pistol, according to interviews and the arrest report.
A bloodied Clair was being held without bail Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder.
The double killing happened during a rowdy weekly event in which the bar sells four beers for a buck. More than 100 patrons show up every Tuesday night and fistfights are frequent, regulars say.
"They get that liquid courage," police Sgt. Kirk Zilke said. "It's probably one of the most active bars for calls and fights."
Sometime Tuesday evening, Joel Kun, 21, James "J.J." Kun, 23, and their mother, April, walked through the doors at Len'z, where a sign warns that wearing motorcycle-club "colors" is not allowed. The crowd included many young adults looking to have a good time for a couple of dollars.
"Everybody's broke, there aren't any jobs, and you can get drunk for $2," said Steve Collins, 21, an EMT-firefighter who recently enlisted to become a U.S. Army medic after failing to find work locally. "It's pretty much the biggest thing on Tuesday nights around here."
The crowd included Clair, 27, a carpenter who recently went back to work on the night shift at Walt Disney World, according to friends. Known as quiet and shy, he was hanging out with an unidentified woman described by police as the ex-girlfriend of one of the Kun brothers.
Clair and the Kun brothers grew up in town and attended St. Cloud High School.
Accounts differ about what set off their fatal confrontation.
A police report states that Clair and the Kun brothers were ejected shortly before midnight for fighting inside the bar.
The bar's owner could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
One witness, Christy Pankey, told police she saw several altercations, including one in which Clair threatened to kill the Kun brothers' entire family, before the three men were thrown out of the bar.
The final fight happened outside. Witnesses told police the brothers beat up Clair, who got into his truck and briefly drove away before returning. According to the report, when Clair came back, he got out of the pickup holding a .40-caliber Glock handgun.
James Kun, 23, and Joel Kun, 21, are dead. Jason Clair, 28, charged with first-degree murder.
June 29, 2011|By Henry Pierson Curtis and Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel
Jason Clair__Jason Clair__James Kun__Joel Kun
ST. CLOUD — Moments after the Kun brothers were gunned down late Tuesday, their mother rushed to her dying sons.
She found herself staring into the gun of a man identified by more than a dozen witnesses as the one who shot her boys, St. Cloud police said.
"Do you want some, too?" Jason Clair asked her before at least six men in the crowd outside Len'z Dug-Out Pub on 13th Street beat him and took away his pistol, according to interviews and the arrest report.
A bloodied Clair was being held without bail Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder.
The double killing happened during a rowdy weekly event in which the bar sells four beers for a buck. More than 100 patrons show up every Tuesday night and fistfights are frequent, regulars say.
"They get that liquid courage," police Sgt. Kirk Zilke said. "It's probably one of the most active bars for calls and fights."
Sometime Tuesday evening, Joel Kun, 21, James "J.J." Kun, 23, and their mother, April, walked through the doors at Len'z, where a sign warns that wearing motorcycle-club "colors" is not allowed. The crowd included many young adults looking to have a good time for a couple of dollars.
"Everybody's broke, there aren't any jobs, and you can get drunk for $2," said Steve Collins, 21, an EMT-firefighter who recently enlisted to become a U.S. Army medic after failing to find work locally. "It's pretty much the biggest thing on Tuesday nights around here."
The crowd included Clair, 27, a carpenter who recently went back to work on the night shift at Walt Disney World, according to friends. Known as quiet and shy, he was hanging out with an unidentified woman described by police as the ex-girlfriend of one of the Kun brothers.
Clair and the Kun brothers grew up in town and attended St. Cloud High School.
Accounts differ about what set off their fatal confrontation.
A police report states that Clair and the Kun brothers were ejected shortly before midnight for fighting inside the bar.
The bar's owner could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
One witness, Christy Pankey, told police she saw several altercations, including one in which Clair threatened to kill the Kun brothers' entire family, before the three men were thrown out of the bar.
The final fight happened outside. Witnesses told police the brothers beat up Clair, who got into his truck and briefly drove away before returning. According to the report, when Clair came back, he got out of the pickup holding a .40-caliber Glock handgun.
