Lil Wayne Dancers Beat Up Waitress At Westfarms Restaurant - PF CHANGS

WEST HARTFORD —— Two dancers who were to perform on stage with rapper Lil Wayne this week have been charged with beating up a waitress at Westfarms mall Sunday night after an argument about splitting the check, police said.

Jennifer Slaughter, 24, of Auburn Hills, Mich., and Della Hamby, 26, of North Hollywood, Calif., were charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace.

The waitress at P.F. Chang's said that she told Slaughter, Hamby and another woman who was not charged that they should have asked to have the check split at the beginning of their meal, not at the end, police said.
The women paid and left, but they later returned to retrieve a cell phone that one had left behind. They swore at the waitress and threatened her. Then, witnesses told police, one pulled the waitress's hair while the other punched her. They threw the waitress to the floor and continued punching her, police said.

The third patron did not participate in the beating, police said. The waitress sustained minor injuries. A worker at the restaurant said Monday that she was OK.

Police found the suspects across New Britain Avenue from the mall, in front of the Old Navy store.

A spokeswoman for P.F. Chang's said she could not comment on the incident because "this is an active investigation." West Hartford police said Monday their investigation into the incident was closed with the arrests of Slaughter and Hamby.

Both women were in town for rehearsals and were scheduled to dance on stage with Lil Wayne at his performance Wednesday night at the Comcast Theatre, said Sarah Cunningham, spokesperson for the tour.

Slaughter and Hamby are contracted performers and not employees of the tour or Lil Wayne's record label, she said.

Six to eight dancers usually are part of the show, Cunningham said. They often work for professional troupes and audition to be part of Lil Wayne's tour, she said.

The incident is being reviewed internally, Cunningham said, and rehearsals continue. Slaughter and Hamby are not expected to be included in the performance, she said.

She would not comment about whether the tour provided accommodations for the dancers.

The next leg of Lil Wayne's "I Am Still Music" tour starts Wednesday in Hartford. The rapper has been rehearsing the show at Comcast Theatre, which is a common place to prepare for road trips that kick off in Connecticut and the northeast.

Slaughter and Hamby were released after posting $1,000 bail.

Both are scheduled to appear Wednesday at Community Court inHartford.