Monday, March 29, 2021

H-Burg Shut Down Nightclub After Two Shootings

Hattiesburg shut down a nightclub this year after it suffered not two homicides but two shootings on Valentine's Day.  A Chancellor allowed the club to reopen Thursday but only after it agreed to a list of conditions with the city.

The Nostalgia Night Club is on 107 Front Street.  Two shootings took place in the wee small hours of February 14.  The Hattiesburg City Council decided it had had enough, showed some leadership, and asked the District Attorney to file a public nuisance action that would shut the club down.  Forrest County District Attorney Lin Carter obliged and filed a petition for a restraining order against Nostalgia on March 12.  The petition stated: 

Attached   hereto  is  a  collective  exhibit  of  82  pages  marked  as  Exhibit  A  and incorporated  herein as though  fully set forth in full. true and correct copies of  Hattiesburg  Police Department  police  reports and  a summary  thereof  reflecting  the  two  most  recent  shootings  and aggravated  assaults  that  Nostalgia  Lounge  and  Bar  has  had  actual  notice  of  the  dangerous  and illegal  activities  involving  violence  and  the  use  of  weapons  on  and  around  the  premises  from October  18. 2020, to February  14. 2021.  These reports reflect a continuing  and escalating course of violence on the premises of Nostalgia Lounge and Bar during regular business hours and shortly after the Nostalgia Lounge and  Bar closes. with a recent night of violence at the club that resulted in  two aggravated  assaults  involving  the  use of  weapons  that occurred  during  the early  morning hours of February 14. 2021.  Thereafter. on February 16. 2021. the Hattiesburg City Council passed a  Resolution  which  deemed  the  Nostalgia  Lounge  &  Bar  a  public  nuisance.   The  City  Council further requested  that the District  Attorney  bring an action to immediately  and  permanently  abate the public nuisance.

 Chancellor Shelia Smallwood shut down the club the same day the petition was filed.

Nostalgia protested and stated: 

The incident did not originate or escalate in or in front of our establishment, as this is confirmed by an official Hattiesburg police report. We take these matters very seriously. Our establishment does not tolerate or cultivate an atmosphere of violence. The sole purpose of Nostalgia Lounge and Bar is to provide our community with a safe, fun, and diverse experience. After almost three years of operation, we have served as an asset to the downtown community by providing job opportunities for college students and locals to the area.

 During a town hall meeting held on Tuesday, February 16th, 2021, the fate of our establishment was determined and voted upon by the city council. There was no invite extended to the owners of Nostalgia Lounge and Bar, and as a result, we had no representation in attendance to defend our establishment. We as a business have decided to stand firm against the decision being made to permanently shut our doors. We also stand against all accusations being made, specifically labeling us a public nuisance. We find it very offensive and disheartening for our patrons and our establishment to be labeled as such. We have made a collective decision to cancel our lineup of events for this upcoming weekend in order to evaluate our current policies and procedures. We will also continue to work with the Hattiesburg Police Department as well as all levels of law enforcement to implement more extensive security measures to ensure the safety of our patrons and the downtown community. Our tentative events will be forthcoming.

 


The Chancellor removed the restraining order Thursday and approved a consent decree of sorts.  Nostalgia agreed to follow the following conditions: 

* The nightclub must hire a professional security company to operate inside and outside of the facility. 

*  At least two security guards must be present Thursday through Saturday and at any special events. 

* No loitering in the parking lot will be allowed.  Security staff must check all persons entering the club with a wand metal detectors. 

* The parking lot must be immediately cleared at closing. 

* Working cameras must be maintained inside and outside the facility. 

* The club can't host any entertainment that promotes gang violence. 

* The only DJ allowed is the "House DJ" who is an employee of the club.  

The petition, statement, TRO, and order are posted below.

Kingfish note: Nice to see some leaders take crime seriously.  Apparently the Chancellor, City Council, and District Attorney were all engaged in reductive analysis.


18 comments:

I Wish I Could Say My Name.... said...

We do not have, nor will we have, a Mayor now, or after the election. Our current Mayor will get re-elected as black professional flight has decimated the pool of qualified, decent candidates. The list of people running as we speak is laughable. Lumumba is all about image and sounding good. He has redefined "empty suit".

Anonymous said...

"After almost three years of operation, we have served as an asset to the downtown community by providing job opportunities for college students and locals to the area." Yeah I know how that works. I knew several girls I went to college with who made good money entertaining in clubs. The guys, depending on your physical size, also made somewhat good money at the door.

Anonymous said...

Interesting...the most important part of the judge's order is that guns are barred inside the premises and no loitering in the parking lot.

Some of readers , no doubt, would holler about your Second Amendment rights and freedom to assemble if a Jackson judge or the mayor issued the same orders.

Anonymous said...

antar is on the take..dope boyz own him

Anonymous said...

At least Melton appeared to actually do something about crime. CAL doesn’t even have the appearance of being tough on crime. Maybe Kenneth and 12:25 are correct.

Anonymous said...

These seem like reasonable conditions that should be placed on all businesses, not just bars. We have a violence issue in this state and nation and these common sense regulations would help a lot: not allowing guns inside buildings with metal detectors and pat downs to check, requiring armed security inside and outside of every business, and not allowing loitering or congregating anywhere. I’m sure some people will complain, but we can assume those people are dope boyz or people getting paid off by dope boyz so who cares about them?

Anonymous said...

I can’t believe you didn’t highlight the very best of the required restrictions: the house DJ “will only perform smooth jazz and no other type of loud music”. The Jazz Police will be auditing. If it’s jazz—but not smooth—OR smooth—but not jazz—they’ll be closed down on the spot. I’d love to have that job.

Kingfish said...

Crime went up under Melton.

Anonymous said...

@11:27am - No, their business and property, their rules. They can restrict firearms inside as they please. If people don’t like it, then don’t go. The 2nd Amendment and subsequent case law applies to the government’s ability to restrict rights surrounding firearms, not a private business. Same goes for the 1st amendment. The constitution, specifically the 1st amendment, doesn’t protect a private company from firing you because you said something stupid on social media, regardless of your ignorance and you screaming “but muh freedom of speech!” It’s unfortunate the general lack of understand the public has of the constitution, yet they cling to it like it’s the Bible.

Kingfish said...

I dunno. Playing that pipe music, as Sachmo called Trane and Miles, might not be a good idea.

Anonymous said...

Melton appeared.
Appeared.
As KF stated: Crime rose under Frank Melton.
Melton was indicted by the FBI while holding public office.

Jackson, Mississippi is a crime haven due to its social conditions. Period.

Anonymous said...

12:46 - yes, these seem like reasonable restrictions to put on an operation that has this history.

but your suggestion that they are reasonable and should apply to all businesses is stupid. Stupid.

I just don't think that Manship, or Caets, or Koestler, or many other fine restaurants need to have to install metal detectors at the door and maintain security guards inside and out. Nor does Best Buy. Or Lowes. Or Office Depot.

If a business wants to do so - fine. Let them do it. But if there is no history of this kind of violent activity at the business, your overreach of government speaks loud and clear.

Anonymous said...

That place is not in the ghetto. That's squarely in the middle of a part of downtown Hattiesburg that has been thoroughly renovated and has several large buildings converted to condos that rent for $1,800 per month. Also several very good restaurants. Hattiesburg is right to put the hammer down on this establishment.

JT said...

Hold on a second here. Correct if I’m wrong and I’m sure someone will, but aren’t these the same rules that the OK Corral (aka the M-Bar) had during the target shooting episodes there? I thought they had the same requirements. No firearms allowed, security inside and out, and clearing out the parking lot asap after closing. Ok maybe the cameras or something else.

Anonymous said...

Rules on what genre of music is played????? Where’s Eazy E and N.W.A when you need them? We want Eazy!

Anonymous said...

When you have that kind of trouble that often, the problem is not the gangsters visiting the place, is the gangsters running the place. Same for the one in Jackson that Kingfish keeps posting about.

Anonymous said...

Toby Barker is probably one of the leaders in the state. He gets things done and people still like him. The state will be in good hands if he and Shad continue their rise.

Standin' By... said...

I've waited six hours for somebody to tell me who the hell Toby Barker is.



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