Key Takeaways
- Brian Hickerson was detained in handcuffs outside a Greenville, South Carolina, bar Saturday night after police responded to a report of an assault at Wild Wing Cafe.
- Hickerson was released without charges, while his brother Zach was arrested for disorderly conduct after police said he was heavily intoxicated and yelling profanities.
- While in handcuffs, Brian Hickerson yelled that Greenville police leaked information when his girlfriend, Hayden Panettiere, died, referencing the August 16 death investigators are probing as a possible overdose.
- The DEA is investigating Panettiere's death and reportedly zeroing in on a potential drug dealer, while Hickerson, who has not been named a suspect, awaits toxicology results alongside a 2021 domestic violence conviction against him.
Actor Brian Hickerson spent part of Saturday night in handcuffs outside of a bar, where he allegedly shouted about how local police handled the death of his girlfriend, actress Hayden Panettiere.
Officers were called to Wild Wing Cafe on a report of an assault on Saturday (Sept. 12) and reportedly found Hickerson and his brother Zach in an altercation with other people outside the restaurant, according to TMZ.
Brian was detained and later let go without charges, while Zach was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken to jail.
Police say Zach was heavily intoxicated and started yelling profanities, which is what led to his arrest.
Sources with direct knowledge said the brothers had been drinking for hours at a table before Brian walked up to the bar to talk with other patrons. He then allegedly picked up a bar stool and slung it backward.
Video shows Brian being lifted off the ground by someone standing behind him as the argument escalated. He is then carried out of the restaurant while a bartender shouts, "Let him go!"
Once officers had him in cuffs, Brian yelled, "GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died."
Panettiere was found dead on Aug. 16 in a Greenville apartment where she and Hickerson had been staying. Hickerson discovered her body and gave her Narcan after finding her unconscious, according to a statement, but she could not be revived.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has opened an investigation into the 36-year-old’s death, according to law enforcement sources. Hickerson has already spoken with the agency about the suspected overdose.
Local and federal investigators believe someone sold Panettiere the drugs that may have killed her, and are "zeroing in on a potential drug dealer," per TMZ. Hickerson has not been named a suspect, and his attorney, Sloan Ellis, declined to comment on the death investigation.
Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, has accused Hickerson of bearing responsibility for her daughter's death. The couple had been together for eight years.
Hickerson pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend and was sentenced to 45 days in county jail, serving 13, along with four years of probation, domestic violence classes, and a five-year protective order. Three days before Panettiere died, an Los Angeles judge denied his attempt to expunge those felonies.
Investigators are still waiting on toxicology results.
