Another good reminder of why its never a good idea to get in a streetfight.

Not sure how many of you following my blog Internationally have heard the story about Lee Aldhouse and Dashawn Longfellow.  Locally here in Thailand it has been big news.

A couple of weeks ago these two gentlemen got into an altercation at a very popular local bar in Phuket called “Freedom bar” in Rawai.  I’ve met Aldhouse a few times at various bars on the southern part of the island (Laguna, Icon)…and he’s always struck me as a bit of a nutcase.

The story being reported is that Lee Aldhouse was at the Freedom bar starting trouble when Dashawn Longfellow was trying to use the restroom.  After exchanging some words the two got into a fist fight before having the brawl broken up.  Supposedly Dashawn Longfellow, a former United States Marine–and a purple heart veteran of two tours of war got the better during the fist-to-cuffs exchange.

Both Lee Aldhouse and Dashawn trained in the sport of Muay Thai in Phuket.  Following the bout, Dashawn went back to his hotel room with his girlfriend, while Lee Aldhouse ran into a 7Elevan convenience store and stole two knives from the clerks.  Following Dashawn home…it was reported that he entered into the hotel room and fatally stabbed him twice in the heart.

The last two weeks Phuket…and “all of Thailand” has been on a country wide manhunt for Lee Aldhouse.  Supposedly the police were “getting close” to catching him.  It was reported the police had seized his passport during a raid of his room, and that they were going to go hotel-to-hotel looking for him.  Alerts at all of the exit points on the island were set up…and it was being reported that it would only be a matter of time until he was apprehended.

Today—The British police arrested Lee Aldhouse while he was attempting to enter the UK through customs at the airport.  As of now…it is not known how he left Thailand, or how he boarded a plan to head back to the UK (where he has been wanted on armed robbery charges).  Knowing Thailand, he probably went through Cambodia or Laos where the boarder exit’s are less “modern”…many of which don’t even have computer data entry.

The media is saying that it is going to be difficult for Thailand to extradite Lee back to face his murder charges, because the country has a “death penalty”..which the UK considers inhuman and cruel.  I’m sure Lee Aldhouse knew this when he planned his escape.

…The entire story is very sad.  It goes to show you that it really is better to “Walk away” than to throw down in a street fight.  Here…both of these guys were “trained fighters” who participated in “Martial Arts”.  Even with this type of background, one of the fighters wasn’t willing to “accept defeat” and upped the ante, killing someone in the process.  Ultimately you have to wonder if the altercation was truly “unavoidable”, even if it means “losing face” during a night out drinking with your mates….if your able to wake up the next morning to talk about it…walking away is probably the best answer for 98% of all the altercations that occur outside of the gym.

To read the first report of the story click here

To read the latest update on Lee Aldhouse being captured in the UK click here