Yuma Marine facing charges in strip club incident

A Yuma Marine could possibly face charges in an incident that happened over the weekend in which he allegedly tried to skip out on his bill at a Winterhaven strip club and injured another person in a hit-and-run accident.

According to Officer Armando Campos of the California Highway Patrol, at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday morning, an officer responded to a call about a pedestrian struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of the Temptations Gentleman's Club.

Upon the officer's arrival, Campos said he located a club employee, 30-year-old Anthony Alarcorn of Yuma, lying on the ground. The suspect in the incident had already fled the scene.

“(Alarcorn) had injuries to his head that required immediate medical attention,” Campos said.

He was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Campos said the incident began when the suspect, later identified as 23-year-old Dean Ryan Meixel, a Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, attempted to leave the club without paying his bill.

Campos said Alarcorn, who worked at the club as a bouncer, followed Meixel outside and tried to prevent him from leaving. Meixel then hit Alarcorn with his vehicle as he left the premises.

The officer, Campos said, immediately put a description of Meixel's vehicle out, and it was located within 15 minutes by Yuma police at the front gates of MCAS Yuma, which is located in the 3400 block of Avenue 3E.

Campos said when Yuma police arrived on scene, Meixel's car had damage to the rear side of the vehicle. Yuma police officers arrested Meixel on suspicion of drunken driving.

Cpl. Graham Benson, a spokesman for MCAS Yuma, confirmed that Meixel is an active duty Marine assigned to the base. Meixel, who is from Pleasant Gap, Pa., is an equipment mechanic for Combat Logistics Company-16.

A corporal, Meixel has never been deployed. His end of active service date is in April of 2012.

Campos said the CHP will be asking the Imperial County District Attorney's Office to file three felony charges against Meixel, which are hit and run with injuries, driving under the influence causing an injury and driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.

All three charges are felonies.

Meixel was released into the custody of military police officers from MCAS Yuma at 7:41 a.m. Sunday morning. Campos added the investigation into the incident is still ongoing and more charges could be filed later.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.