Whiskey Row accused murderer stays out of jail despite DUI

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - One of the men charged with the death of Dallas Barrett at Whiskey Row found out he was not immediately going to jail Friday.

News4 was the only station in the courtroom to find out the scheduled hearing had nothing to do with the murder charge.

Mark Watkins was working as a security guard at Whiskey Row. Witnesses say he held down Dallas Barrett the night he died from asphyxiation. Two months before that, he was charged with a DUI and probation. So the question is: did he violate his probation by being at Whiskey Row?

On Friday, Watkins listened as Detective David Studer detailed what police say happened when Barrett died.

“Mr. Watkins told me he was working the front door the night of the incident,” testified Detective Studer. “Then he heard “code red” over the radio. So, when he heard the “code red”, he couldn’t leave the front door right away.”

Detective Studer says Watkins did that so Barrett couldn’t get off the ground. But Watkins’ attorney says that his client held Barrett the least of all those charged charges.

“Of the six people charged here, it would be safe to say Mr. Watkins had the least physical contact with Mr. Barrett,” questions Watkins’ attorney, Bernard McEvoy.

“Probably could be the least. That could be fairly accurate,” Detective Studer responds.

Judge Melissa Blackburn decided to continue the case and Watkins’ probation. However, that didn’t sit well with Barrett’s mother, who wants jail time.

“I’m disappointed, aggravated that this guy killed my son,” she says. “He was already on probation before that, and now he’s still walking around, smiling, going out of the courthouse.”

“I guess all we can do is hope what happened to Dallas Barrett doesn’t happen to someone else,” says Jon Slager, Barrett’s attorney.

Watkins will be back in July to check in on his probation. However, Judge Blackburn says she wants to see if he’s convicted for Barrett’s murder first before she decides on his probation violation.

Other security guards involved also have scheduled court dates for prior crimes before they go to trial in Barrett’s death.