If Statesboro's Alcoholic Beverages Ordinance had not been weakened in December 2011, Michael Gatto, 18, might be alive today, City Attorney J. Alvin Leaphart IV concluded in a recent report to City Council. The Aug. 28 death of Gatto, a newly arrived Georgia Southern University freshman, from an attack at the since-closed Rude Rudy's bar, refocused attention on Statesboro's alcohol enforcement. Police charged a Rude Rudy's bouncer said to have been off-duty at the time, Grant James Spencer, 20, with felony murder and aggravated battery.
City of Statesboro report: Weakening of alcohol rules might have contributed to Gattos death