INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis strip club owner faces charges of strangulation and battery after he reportedly attacked City-County Councilman Jeff Miller Monday morning.
The attack happened at approximately 10:30 a.m. during the Alcohol and Beverage Commission meeting at the City-County Building.
Video of the meeting recorded by Government Access Channel 16 captured a voice off-screen yell, “Don’t you ever talk about my [unintelligible]!” A number of attendees can then be seen running toward the door, where an altercation is partially visible.
Moments later, Miller is seen walking holding his head and walking away from the door.
Police in attendance at the meeting arrested 51-year-old Jeffery Moe on the spot. While interviewing him, police said Moe told them, “Yes, I cleaned his clock and I’ll do it again.” Moe reportedly further stated Miller was a child molester and that Miller had tried to “end his business and slander his family name.”
Miller was charged in November with three counts of child molestation after a 10-year-old girl claimed he had massaged her and made her feel uncomfortable on multiple occasions. He is still awaiting trial in that case.
READ THE LATEST UPDATE IN THE JEFF MILLER CASE
Moe was charged Tuesday with criminal confinement, strangulation, battery resulting in bodily injury and disorderly conduct.
According to a probable cause affidavit field in the case, Moe, who owns Lenny’s Gentleman’s Club at 255 W. Morris Street, was at the hearing to testify in support of renewal of the alcohol permit for the Liquor Barn at 1150 S. Meridian Street.
Miller was attendance to testify against the Liquor Barn.
In an interview with RTV6, Moe said he has no connection to Liquor Barn. But he does have a history with Miller who, he says, has been trying to get his liquor license revoked for years.
“Basically for four years Mr. Miller has paraded in front of liquor boards talking about how bad this club is, what a public nuisance it is – and in reality, we are 25 police runs less than the church where Mr. Miller holds public meetings," Moe said.
Moe provided audio to RTV6 of Miller speaking at a Stadium Village Business Association meeting last month. In the audio, Miller can be heard talking about he helped get a liquor license revoked even when there were no violations by instead focusing on the bar owner's "character." Moe says the liquor license in question was his.
“I couldn’t believe he attacked my character with three child molestation charges pending," Moe said. “As pompous as he is, he basically says, hey, we couldn’t take away his excise license because he has no violations, we couldn’t take away his license because he's got a clean record, so we had to go after his 'character.'"
Moe said he couldn't believe MIller was at the liquor board meeting Monday, apparently trying to attack another business.
“I walked over to him, I grabbed him three inches below his neck, I shook him, and I said, 'Don’t talk about my character.' I put him down, I was put in handcuffs and I was put in jail," Moe said. "I did what I did, but he shouldn’t have been allowed to be in that meeting.”
Moe denies grabbing Miller by the neck, and said he never intended to hurt him.
“His favorite game was Ride the Wild Jeff Beast," Moe said, referring to part of the accusations against Miller in his child molestation case. "We got to play Ride the Wild Jeff Moe Beast. I’m sure those little girls were hurt a lot more than he was.”
A Marion County Sheriff’s deputy in attendance, who ultimately arrested Moe and wrote up the affidavit, reported hearing someone yelling and then seeing Moe putting his hands around Miller’s throat. The deputy said he saw Moe slam Miller’s head against the room’s marble wall at least twice.
At that point, the deputy was able to intervene and stop the fight.
While being escorted to jail, Moe reportedly told the deputy that “he was not a bad man, but Mr. Miller did not have the right to insult his family name or try to take his business away.”
Miller was checked out by medics on scene and released.
Moe told RTV6 he's never had problems with IMPD or Sgt. William Carter, head of the department's nuisance abatement division. He said the problem is that the liquor board has stopped listening to them.
“The liquor board stopped listening to IMPD and they stopped listening to excise, and instead they’ve started listening to a man accused of child molestation," Moe said. “If Reggie Miller had three child molestation charges – not convictions, just charges – his ass would have been fired on the spot. But Jeff Miller, a politician, is allowed to stay on the council and go to these meetings to try to steal someone’s liquor license.”
Moe said he felt like he was in a "shakedown."
“To me, it’s a religious shakedown," Moe sid. "If the Mafia came after me, I could call Sgt. Carter. But what do you say when a councilman and the neighborhood churches come after you?”
Moe said he intends to make his case before a judge -- the same way he is appealing the suspension of his liquor license.
“I decided to do something about it, and I will face the consequences," Moe said. "And that’s how America works.”
Bond in the case was set at $7,500. Moe was expected in court for an initial hearing Wednesday morning.
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