Man slain after he came to girlfriend's aid at nightclub

A Maywood man has been charged with killing another man who came to his girlfriend’s aid after an early morning fight at a West Side nightclub.
Arthur Bettis, 26, of the 900 block of S. 9th Avenue in Maywood, was ordered held without bail in a hearing before Cook County Criminal Court Judge Ramon Ocasio III after being charged with first-degree murder in the slaying early Saturday of Kyle Matthews, 32.
The slaying took place about 2:15 a.m. Saturday on the street in the 1700 block of North Central Avenue in the North Austin neighborhood.
Matthews was at a Carolyn’s Lounge, 1744 N. Central Ave., when his girlfriend ran into him unexpectedly, according to Assistant State’s Attorney John Dillon. The girlfriend also ran into her ex-boyfriend and Bettis, a good friend of the ex-boyfriend.
When the woman got into an argument with her ex-boyfriend, Bettis “interjected himself into the argument, which escalated into a physical” fight, according to Dillon.
All four people got into a fight, and the club’s bouncers broke it up and kicked Bettis out of the lounge, prosecutors said. Outside, video surveillance caught three bouncers having to restrain Bettis.
Bettis and the ex-boyfriend left, but returned a few minutes later and confronted Matthews and his girlfriend, who were by then outside the club, prosecutors said. Bettis went after the woman, and she hit him with a pair of knee-high boots she was carrying.
Bettis punched the woman in the face, and Matthews intervened, throwing Bettis to the ground, prosecutors said. But while they were on the ground, Bettis fired two shots, hitting Matthews in the chest. Bettis then fled. Matthews died on the scene.
The slaying was caught on video surveillance.
Police arrested Bettis at his house, and found a 9mm semiautomatic postol in his basement. Bettis waived his right to refuse to be questioned and gave a videotaped confession, admitting to shooting Matthews.
Several witnesses, including bouncers, identified Bettis as the one who had faught with Matthews, and bouncers saw Bettis with a gun just before the shooting, saw the fight outside the club and heard gunshots before Matthews fell to the ground.