Strippers: Club patron who was found dead had been lewd, rude

By Steven Kreytak
Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The murder trial of a former stripper and her boyfriend who are accused of robbing and killing a customer last year continued in a Travis County courtroom today, with the jury hearing from a strip club manager and the customer’s wife among other witnesses.

Jessica Krause-Patterson, 20, and Jon Tyrell Banks, 23, each are charged with murder and aggravated robbery in the April 13, 2010, death of Elmore Allen, 49.

Allen, of Del Valle, worked as a delivery man for a furniture store and did odd jobs breaking horses, delivering furniture and performing electrical work, said his wife, Raechelle Smith.

Smith told the jury that she and Allen had a 9-year-old son together and he had seven children from a previous marriage.

Eleftherios Karamolegkos, owner of Hot Bodies, a gentleman’s club on Burleson Road in Southeast Austin, told the jury that Allen was a regular at the club and came in the early afternoon on April 12, 2010.

Karamolegkos said that Krause-Patterson danced at the club starting in January 2010 and reported to work at 6:58 p.m. on April 12, 2010.

Her stage name was “Sin,” Karamolegkos said.

Lulu Hayward, a dancer at the club, testified that Allen was “a nice, kind of friendly guy” who paid her $20 for two table dances that day. She said that after those dances she did not offer a dance to Allen again.

On cross-examination, defense lawyers Matt Nichols, who represents Banks, and Russ Hunt Jr., who represents Krause-Patterson, pressed her about why she did not seek further business with Allen.

“He wanted to get kind of lewd,” she said. “He wanted to touch more.”

Dancer Del’Andra Johnson said that Allen was acting flamboyantly at the sparsely populated club that day, dancing around in the club in front of an empty stage, drinking and flashing his money.

“He was rude. He had a lot of money to spend. He was being stingy. Pinching it off little by little,” said Johnson, who earned about $80 from Allen that night.

On cross-examination, Johnson said that Allen was inappropriately touching her. Things got so bad, she said, that she reported Allen to Karamolegkos.

[ During opening statements defense lawyer David Frank told jurors that after the club closed and Elmore gave Krause-Patterson a ride, Banks attacked Elmore to protect her from an impending sexual assault. ]

Prosecutor Katheryn Scales said that Banks attacked Elmore during a planned robbery set up by him and Krause-Patterson.

Elmore was found dead at Bluff Springs Road apartment complex where Krause-Patterson used to live several hours after he left the club. His head was on some stone landscaping edging and he has suffered trauma to the back of his head, Scales said.

Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer

Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer

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