Marietta suspends sex shop’s license; owner vows appeal

Marietta City Council mem- bers have suspended the busi- ness license of a sex shop and ordered its owner to remove all sexually explicit items from the store. The council’s order issued late Wednesday was part of its decision to uphold an city administrative ruling in June that revoked the com- pany’s business license.

The suspension will last for six months, and owner Michael Morrison has to “immediately” remove those items from the shop at 345 Cobb Parkway S., the coun- cil’s decision states.

But Morrison’s attorney, Cary Wiggins, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he plans to appeal the council’s ruling. An appeal means Tokyo Valentino can remain open until that process is exhausted, City Manager Bill Bruton said.

“I’m disappointed in the city’s decision, but I’m comfortable that this store is in the right,” Wiggins said.

Last month, the city ruled Tokyo Valentino in 2018 con- cealed what it would be selling when it applied and was approved for a license to sell general merchandise. After the city’s investigation into the business in May, the business license was revoked June 18.

The company appealed the decision to the City Council.

Six witnesses testified in person during the roughly twohour council hearing Wednesday about items sold in the store, the investigative process and the city’s ordinance governing adult businesses. Five of the witnesses were city of Marietta employees who testified, and the sixth person does marketing and public relations for Tokyo Valentino.

Ben Smith, the city’s prosecutor, said owner Morrison concealed “material facts” on his application by not listing the sexually explicit items he planned to sell, such as sex toys, lubricants, adult pornographic videos and lingerie.

“There is an argument that he could be charged with a criminal offense,” Smith said, referring to a state law that makes it a crime to make false statements and writings.

Wiggins argued the city ordinance is unconstitutional and its definition of an adult business targets bookstores, not stores like Tokyo Valentino.

Morrison, who recently opened another Tokyo Valentino in east Cobb, is also facing a legal battle in Brookhaven. A DeKalb County judge in May found Morrison in contempt of court and ordered him locked up for 180 days. He is appealing the ruling.

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM Tape marks a crime scene at Flat Shoals and Glenwood avenues Thursday morning, hours after a 9-year-old and two men were injured in a shooting Wednesday night in East Atlanta, authorities said. The three were hospitalized and are expected to survive, police said. Investigators believe an argument between two groups escalated and gunfire erupted. Witnesses reported seeing a black sedan leave the scene after the incident.