Inset left to right: Seth Jones and Malakhi Scott Weathers-Parker (Louisville Metro Corrections). Background: A restaurant near where one group of people attacked another in Louisville, Ky. (Google Maps).
A night out in Kentucky landed multiple people behind bars and several others injured as a group of men went from business to business to spark a confrontation after they perceived an incident of disrespect, according to law enforcement in the Bluegrass State.
Malakhi Scott Weathers-Parker, 20, stands accused of one count each of strangulation in the first degree, assault in the fourth degree, and unlawful transaction with a minor, and Seth Jones, 20, stands accused of two counts of assault and one count of unlawful transaction with a minor, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The underlying incident occurred on March 8, 2025, at the Paddock Shops in Louisville — a shopping mall in the eastern part of the city.
On the night in question, three people were heading out to eat at Malone's when they saw another group posing for a photo, according to law enforcement. Someone in the first group yelled "say cheese" to the second group and then they went into the restaurant.
The group being photographed felt "disrespected" by the comment — typically understood as encouragement for a toothy smile — according to an arrest report obtained by Louisville Fox affiliate WDRB. Weathers-Parker and Jones were in the second group, police said.
The defendants left the area to take someone home but later returned to the same parking lot where the unwanted "say cheese" comment was made, with a juvenile in tow, and went to look for the first group, according to law enforcement. The trio even went to several different restaurants trying to find the group from earlier, police said.
Eventually, the victims returned to their car where they were accosted by the defendants, according to the arrest report.
Quickly, the groups came to blows.
One victim was beaten with their own metal baton, police claim. Another was put into a chokehold until they became unconscious, according to law enforcement. In the aftermath, the unconscious victim suffered a concussion, skull fractures, and a brain bleed, police said. Another victim was left with bruises and contusions on her leg. A third victim suffered bruises and contusions all over his body.
After the attack, the trio left the scene of the crime, police claim. The incident was witnessed by another person in the parking lot and recorded by surveillance cameras, law enforcement says.
On March 18, 2025, Jones was arrested, WDRB reported at the time. His lawyer claimed he acted in self-defense.
"As the video evidence will show, Mr. Jones acted in self-defense when the alleged victims pulled out a deadly weapon and Mr. Jones was forced to defend himself and disarm them," defense attorney Nick Mudd told the TV station.
The next day, police requested the public's help locating Weathers-Parker in a post on Facebook which jocularly referenced the inciting remark and included what appears to be a still image of the defendant from the night in question behind the wheels of a car.
"We would like to introduce you to 19-year-old Malakhi Scott Weathers-Parker," the social media post reads. "Our Eighth Division Detectives would like to talk to him. We are alleging that he and some of his friends thought it would be cool to be 'cheese heads' and assault and strangle a patron outside of a popular east end eatery on 3-8-25 during the evening hours. If you should know where 'Mr. Pepper Jack' is or you feel 'cheesy' enough to call in a tip. Remember you can do it anonymously."
On March 24, 2025, Weathers-Parker was arrested, the police department announced in a follow-up Facebook post.
This month, a woman injured during the incident sued the Paddock Shops for negligence and premises liability over an alleged lack of security and lighting in the parking lots, WDRB reported this week.
Despite the police department's claim that the assailants are caught on surveillance cameras, the plaintiff in the lawsuit is alleging the camera situation at the shopping mall was wholly insufficient.
"[S]he was ambushed in a dark parking lot," attorney David Barber said in a press release. "The Paddock Shops had no surveillance cameras covering the parking lots, inadequate lighting, and a security response slower than nearby restaurant employees and bystanders. This attack was foreseeable and preventable."
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