MACON, Ga. — Mayor Lester Miller says Bibb County will likely revoke the liquor license for the Thirsty Turtle because it has the worst record of violence of any club in downtown Macon.
Some neighbors of the Turtle are concerned about the violence outside the club. Annabella Bleclic who works nearby at Bossa Novas said that the lack of security cameras could be a contributing factor.
"Obviously it is an issue when the only place that the cops can go in order to track down the people causing this or the people in the situation. It is an issue when they have to come to a very small family business because we are the only source of cameras," said Bleclic.
Mayor Lester Miller said The Thirsty Turtle attracts a younger crowd, but that club owners are creating the wrong environment.
"This is not happening at other bars. There are many other bars out there. You have some that allow 18-year-olds in, some that allow 21-year-olds in, some have a 25-year-old requirement. They are not having as many fights there and things that lead out into the street and shootings that are happening. We can only face what's happening in front of us and this particular establishment has had several instances that we have been able to document," said Miller.
Miller said he expects the Bibb County commission to take a look at the Thirsty Turtle's license after the 90-day suspension ends in October. Miller also said they'll probably take away the license for good.
"During that time the commissioners will look at that, the facts and the circumstances surrounding that and they can decide to or most likely to permanently suspend or revoke the license for that business owner," said Miller.
Bleclic said more cameras and more law-enforcement presence downtown would both help.
"At the end of the day, if at least there could be more security around downtown that would at least make everyone feel safer and probably deter things like this from happening," said Bleclic.
The sheriff's office says they're still investigating the Saturday morning shooting that killed two people and wounded two others. So far, there have been no arrests.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE