A brawl between crews of pop bands New Edition and Guy led to a shooting death and caused tour sponsor Anheuser-Busch Inc. to yank both bands off national concert tours, company officials said.
A production manager of New Edition, in apparent retaliation for being beaten by a rival road crew, stalked the group Guy's security chief and shot him to death, police said.The shooting occurred after a dispute July 9 between New Edition and Guy erupted into a scuffle among road crew members, detectives said. The fight ended in the death of Anthony Bee, 32, of New York, security manager for Guy, Police Cmdr. Ronald Freeman said.
New Edition production manager Ronald Byrd, 30, of Buffalo, N.Y., was charged with criminal homicide and will face a July 19 coroner's inquest, detectives said.
The dispute between the two bands first began in Greensboro, N.C., when Guy played past its time limit, police said. One member of Guy allegedly kicked or pushed some of New Edition's equipment as the group came on stage.
Four members of Guy were charged with assault in the beating of New Edition crew member Michael Clark of New York, investigators said.