It is good that the soldier was acquitted if he was innocent, but this case should serve as a reminder that if you hang out at the King Club don’t be surprised when trouble happens:

A 20-year-old soldier was acquitted Tuesday of attempted murder in the stabbing of a Camp Casey soldier and former gang member after his attorney argued investigators had arrested the wrong person.

The Feb. 1 stabbing outside an Itaewon nightclub was the most high-profile in an escalating number of what U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Walter Sharp called “incidents of indiscipline” since last summer, when he shortened the weekend curfew to 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Pfc. Carlton J. Lyles Jr., of the 19th Adjutant General Company, had been charged with attempted murder and obstruction of justice for the stabbing at the King Club, where a melee started on the dance floor and continued on the street.

Investigators never closed the case, and fliers are still posted at Yongsan offering a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the recovery of a knife and clothes worn by the attacker, possibly in a plastic bag near the base.

Defense attorney Capt. Tim Bilecki said the continuing reward offer showed that investigators and prosecutors had rushed to judgment in a high-profile case by trying Lyles, who was arrested Feb. 2. The attorney said testimony and DNA evidence pointed to two other soldiers who are charged with aggravated assault for their role in the brawl.

“They had to solve the case. It’s pretty difficult for the government and CID (Criminal Investigation Command) to say they’ve got the wrong guy in jail, so they put the blinders on,” he said.

Prosecutors, however, said testimony from one of Lyles’ friends, a CID agent and a video of the fight outside the club pointed to Lyles.

Witnesses said a brawl started inside the club shortly after 2 a.m., possibly over racial slurs or comments made about a woman.  [Stars & Stripes]