FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Buckhead lounge where two people died in a fatal shooting on Mother's Day, including an Albany State volleyball player, has been declared a nuisance and shut down by a judge.
A hearing continued one day after the owner was arrested during proceedings to determine the fate of his club. Just after 6 p.m., Judge Rachelle Carnesale delivered her ruling.
The owner, Djbril Dafe, was arrested during Thursday's proceedings for failing to appear in a separate 2022 case. He faces theft by taking, theft by deception and identity theft charges in that case.
Mari Creighton, 21, and Nakyris Ridley, 20, were killed in the deadly shooting at the club in May.
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The hearings on the club's fate happened after the City of Atlanta filed a lawsuit to shut down the business permanently. A temporary restraining order to keep the business from opening its doors for 60 days had first been issued.
On Thursday, Dafe's attorneys were in the middle of arguing over why the lounge should remain open when Judge Carnesale stopped the proceeding and announced that the businessman had a bench warrant.
Before he was arrested Thursday, several officers took the stand to testify about what happened moments before and after the May 12 fatal shooting at the Buckhead lounge.
Atlanta Police Department Major Benjamin Vaynes also offered more insight into the number of calls initiated regarding the club, including within the year prior to the deadly shooting.
Ultimately, the judge cited several reasons to deem the lounge a nuisance.
"Sufficient evidence was presented to demonstrate routine interference with the public safety, the public peace, the public comfort and the public convenience of this case based on numerous pervasive problems that were generated by or in around this lounge," the judge said.
"These problems included the illegal sale of alcohol to minors and adults, the illegal permitting of patrons to use drugs, the outbreak of numerous fights including gunfights and stabbings, a failure to properly screen guests and the creation of dramatic traffic congestion, loud music and littering," she added.