3 arrested after brawl with deputies at Big Chicken in Hartland for Shaq appearance

Shaq appearance at Big Chicken in Hartland ends with 3 arrested after brawl with deputies

The food here at Big Chicken is delicious, and sometimes you get dinner and a show.

HARTLAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - The food at Big Chicken is delicious, and sometimes you get dinner and a show. This combo meal came with a BB gun in a backpack and two Tasers Friday.

"I mean, what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to let this, you know, 250-pound guy, you know, beat up my deputy for whatever reason," Livingston County Sheriff Michael Murphy said "That's not the way it works."

A cell phone video showing deputies deploying Tasers - to limited effect - is only part of this story. Folks were in a frenzy over chicken and to get a glimpse of NBA legend, Shaquille O'Neal.

"People started to get a little testy because they couldn't get in, etc," Murphy said. "And then Shaq showed up. So that added a little bit to it."

Shaq is affiliated with Big Chicken restaurants inside eating last Friday, while feathers ruffled outside, particularly for 21-year-old William Prieto, seen on security cameras.

"The crowd overheard some comments that led them to believe that the one guy had a pistol in his backpack," Murphy said.

Deputies would eventually find a BB gun in his bag, made to look like a pistol.

A Livingston County Sheriff's deputy calls for backup, and they asked Prieto and his two female companions to leave. He doesn't, and squares up charging deputies.

"Unfortunately, none of this had to happen if they would have just left," Murphy said.

Deputies wanted to move the three people away from the event, but the situation escalated.

"The guy saw what was going on. I assume he thought that we pushed her down or whatever, and went and clothes-lined the deputy," Murphy said. "And the rest is history."

No one was hurt in the encounter, but it did end with some serious charges against Prieto, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting and for being a habitual offender.

The two women with him, 21-year-old Abigail Strong and her mom, 48-year-old, Holly Strong, were both charged with three counts of resisting officers.

They got their five minutes YouTube fame," Murphy said. "I'm just not sure that's how they wanted, especially with the criminal charges. So there you have it."

The sheriff says that two Tasers deployed by deputies did not take effect on Prieto, and that the deputy that was clothes-lined did suffer minor injuries.