Bail released in Hammond restaurant fight

A judge on Friday reduced the bail of a married couple involved in a July fight at The Wheel restaurant in Hammond.

John Kilpatrick and Michelle Valle, both 41, have been charged with seven offences, including intimidation and battery. Each is charged with three crimes.

Both pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Valle is accused of fighting with three women in the parking lot, and the affidavit alleges that Kilpatrick briefly pulled a gun on the other women.

Their bail was set at $8,000 each. His bail was reduced to $2,000, while Valle’s is now $1,000 respectively. Their next meeting will be held on December 19.

Hammond police responded at 5:30 a.m. July 19 to the restaurant located at 7430 Indianapolis Blvd.

Three women who said they had been drinking that night said they were leaving when Valle entered the restaurant and thought they were laughing at her. The argument turned into a short physical fight in the parking lot.

They said Valle instigated the fight. One woman said her “life flashed before her eyes” when Kilpatrick pointed the gun at her.

Valle later told police that she and Kilpatrick had gone to a diner after their midnight shift. The order was taking time, so she went to check.

“What an ugly (expletive) look,” another woman said to Valle as she left.

Valle told police she had “anger issues” and was a “fighter.”

Deputy District Attorney Adam Martin said Valle and Kilpatrick are equally guilty.

The couple’s attorney, John Cantrell, argued to Judge Salvador Vazquez that the three women instigated the fight with Valle, and security footage would confirm that. According to the attorney, Kilpatrick pulled out a gun but put it away when things calmed down.

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