Man Charged in Death at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row Avoids Jail

One of seven men charged in the death of a patron at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row establishment on Lower Broadway in Nashville will not serve any jail time in a plea deal struck with prosecutors. On Friday (4-10), Marine veteran Steven Simon plead guilty to reckless homicide, and was sentenced to two years of probation, with the possibility of the charge being expunged from his record if he meets the conditions of the probation.

In August of 2021, six security guards tackled 22-year-old Dallas Barrett after an altercation, pinning him to the ground to the point where he could not breathe. Steven Simon was not part of the security staff, but saw the altercation, and helped hold down Dallas Barrett’s legs. Barrett later died, with the cause of death found to be asphyxiation. Mr. Simon told the court that he’d previously worked in security and was trying to help.

“I felt like I was trying to assist, as crazy as that sounds because of the outcome. I’m extremely remorseful and sorry for what happened to your son,” Simon told Dallas Barrett’s mother Tammy in the hearing.

In her statement to the court, Tammy Barrett said in part, “He will be under two years of probation, although my son is gone forever. He will likely get his record expunged, although my son is dead forever. Despite those cries for help, Mr. Simon continued to hold him down; he didn’t call for 911. He didn’t remove himself from the situation; he continued applying pressure to an already escalating situation, and as a result, my son is dead.”

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Jim Todd signaled he agreed the sentence seemed too lenient, but also said he did not have cause to reject the plea deal struck by prosecutors. “The court finds that there’s no basis to reject the diversion, ma’am. The goal here of courts is to treat and rehabilitate offenders. It’s never going to fix the pain that you and your family will suffer, and I apologize for that.”

Tammy Barrett hasn’t just been advocating for her son, but for reforms to the laws of how security guards are hired and trained. “I felt like [the judge] wanted to do more, but he went down all the checklist,” she told reporters afterwards. “That’s what I hate, the checklist. It’s like my son’s life and his death was based off of a checklist; that sucks.”

The August 16th, 2021 incident occurred after security guards at Whiskey Row had reportedly told Dallas Barrett to leave the premises prior to the altercation, but he refused. Security then reportedly restrained Barrett and held him down until officers arrived. Numerous individuals called 911, with police arriving in just over two minutes. They found Barrett unresponsive, and began performing CPR. Police were then relieved by Nashville Fire Department personnel who transported Barret to Vanderbilt hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation found that only two of the six security guards were properly licensed at the time, resulting in the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance suspending Whiskey Row’s license to hire private security. The bar is operated by a company called Riot Hospitality.

The six security guards also involved in the incident are set to go on trial on reckless homicide and aggravated assault charges on October 19th.