Customer brutally assaults bar manager, leaves her with brain bleed, police say

TEMPE, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — A bar manager in Arizona was brutally struck in the head while trying to close-up shop.

Police said Ryan McElhannon is behind bars after assaulting Tiffany Albrecht at the Five Star Bar & Grill in Tempe so badly he left her with a brain bleed.

Albrecht is on the road to recovery after Saturday’s shift was almost her last.

Albrecht said she recalled a hospital staff member saying it was “a matter of life or death” for her and that “she will die if we don’t stop this brain bleed.”

Albrecht has been a bartender for more than 20 years, and Saturday’s closing shift started like any other.

“The night was going very well. We had live music that night,” she said.

When closing time hit at 2 a.m., one guest, later identified by police as McElhannon, refused to leave.

“He didn’t seem drunk. He just seemed entitled and angry,” Albrecht said.

When she tried to talk to McElhannon, Albrecht said he swung his arm and hit her in the head.

“The whole reason why I got such a massive brain bleed was because I got knocked out and couldn’t catch myself before I hit the ground,” she said.

Officials said McElhannon knocked Albrecht out in one motion and then immediately left the bar with her still unconscious.

Albrecht was rushed to Banner Desert Medical Center, just minutes away, where they performed life-saving surgery.

“Right when we got to the emergency room, they did a CT scan and within minutes, they swarmed around me and said we have to have an operation right now,” she said. “The doctors said, ‘How did you know to come here? If you didn’t come here, you wouldn’t be alive, because there isn’t a neurosurgeon everywhere at 3 o’clock in the morning.’”

Tempe police arrested McElhannon a few days later and charged him with aggravated assault. They also said he texted a woman he had met at the bar after the assault.

“I don’t care if I go to jail… that B**** is lucky I open hand slapped her and didn’t break her F****** jaw. Anyway, it was nice talking to you. sorry it ended this way,” the text message read.

Albrecht said she was disgusted when she learned about the message.

“It made me sick to my stomach,” Albrecht said. “It was not only just bragging about it. It was calling me names. Like what kind of person are you? I’ve never seen such evil in my life.”

Albrecht said the road to her recovery will be long.

Friends and family are rallying through a benefit concert this Saturday.

“They’re throwing it and having this event for me. They are very, very sweet people,” Albrecht said.

Anyone who is interested in donating to pay for Albrecht’s medical costs can find more information on the Facebook page Tiffany’s 5 Star Benefit Concert! or on her GoFundMe page.

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