Club owner testifies he kneeled on patron to stop access to security officer's gun during brawl

SAN ANTONIO

Mariano Rendon Jr., owner and host at the nightclub El Volcan, testified that he put "one knee on his stomach" to stop a man from reaching a security officer—9s holster during an Aug. 20, 2023, altercation at the club.

The testimony came in a Bexar County trial in which surveillance video, witness statements and physical evidence were central to the state—9s case. Rendon told jurors the fight began on the dance floor and escalated into a pile of people he described as "a mountain" before he and staff pulled people away.

Rendon said he saw a weapon in the tangle of bodies and acted to prevent it being grabbed. "His hands were touching the holster," Rendon testified. "I put one knee on his stomach." He told the jury his priority was to avoid "a massacre in my club." He said the security officer involved was Anthony Cochran.

Why this matters: the owner—9s account bears directly on criminal charges arising from the fight, the degree of force used and whether any injuries were intentional. The parties presented competing narratives about who was attacking whom,…