Briefly in the news

A 51-year-old Costa Mesa man died Wednesday from injuries he suffered

during a weekend bar brawl in Laguna Niguel when he reportedly threatened

to kill a patron and was hit on the head by an off-duty bouncer,

officials said.

Police said James Leslie Martin had been drinking even before he

entered Patsy’s Irish Pub in the 28000 block of Street of the Golden

Lantern.

When the bartender refused to serve him more drinks, Martin came out

and tried to start his truck, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange

County Sheriff’s Department.

He said a woman and her boyfriend who were smoking outside offered to

get him a cab because of his inebriated condition, but Martin declined

the offer.

When his truck did not start, Martin tried to look under the hood when

the woman took out his car keys and gave it to the bartender to prevent

Martin from driving, Amormino said.

“The woman came out later for another smoke and, this time, [Martin]

approached her, pulled out a gun and put it to her head,” he said.

Her boyfriend, other patrons, as well as an off-duty bouncer,

responded to her calls for help, Amormino said. The bouncer initially

struck Martin with a cue stick between his shoulder and neck, then again

on the head, he said.

When deputies arrived on the scene, he was unconscious, had a cut on

his head and was not breathing, Amormino said.

Martin died Wednesday about 12:30 a.m. at Mission Hospital Regional

Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

Amormino said the case is under investigation and has been forwarded

to the Orange County district attorney. The bouncer has not been charged,

he said.