Residents split on revoking eatery’s alcohol license after shooting

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Residents of a south Georgia town are split on the decision to revoke a restaurant’s alcohol license after a deadly shooting.

Some residents say the move came too late after earlier incidents, The Moultrie Observer reports, while some say the city didn’t give the restaurant owner a chance to defend her record.

Elleven17 was rented out for a birthday party that included a rap performance when a fight broke out early on the morning of Jan. 10. Three people were hit by gunfire, with 25-year-old Rhoderick Moore dying. A fourth person was hit by a car as people fled through a parking lot.

City Manager Pete Dillard on Jan. 11 revoked the alcohol license of Elleven17’s owner, Marquesa Thomas. The restaurant is still open; it just can’t serve alcohol.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the inquiry, but has made no arrests.

Moultrie Police Chief Sean Ladson said that since Thomas opened her restaurant in late 2019, officers have written 11 incident reports, including a case where someone pointed a gun at someone else, as well as a handful of lesser incidents that didn’t produce reports.

However, Ladson said those numbers are actually an undercount. An unrelated investigation found a 911 dispatcher was linked to the restaurant and was intercepting some complaints so that an officer was never sent. The dispatcher, who wasn’t named, has been fired, Ladson said.

Ladson said restaurant security guards were using hand-held metal detectors. However, the rapper brought his own armed security. Photos and videos on social media show guns being used as props during the performance. Ladson said one of the men on stage had an assault rifle and the rapper himself lifted his shirt to show a handgun in his waistband.

The restaurant has a capacity of 307, according to the city fire marshal, but the governor’s COVID orders cut that to 107. The police chief said there were probably 350-400 people at the party.

Dillard said Thomas can get a new alcohol license, but it will take time.

Neighbors who supported the revocation said the restaurant has had loud music and events going late into the night.

Bob Montgomery said he woke up about 2 a.m. Jan. 10 to the sound of squealing tires and racing engines. He said multiple gunshots were followed by what he described as “a running gunbattle” up a street. A stray bullet hit a front door and another shattered a car’s windshield, he said.

“Somebody died,” David Stone said, “and they died from here to across the street from where I live.”

Thomas and several other people spoke on her behalf. They all called Moore’s death horrific, but they said that could happen anywhere, and not necessarily because of alcohol.

Other supporters wanted the council to consider good things Thomas had done for the community since opening Elleven17. People noted that she provided meals for children after schools closed last spring due to the coronavirus.