Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune column by Chris Ingram on clubs inviting criminal behavior:

Commentary

Chris Ingram: Time to crack down on clubs that invite criminal behavior

Published: March 13, 2015

Two weeks ago Saturday, Angel Reyes, 22, was shot dead outside a Town ’n Country strip club. The shooting occurred in the parking lot, when a brawl inside the strip club spilled outside. A bouncer shot Reyes after he pulled out a laser pointer that looked like a handgun. Sheriff’s officials say Reyes had a substantial criminal history.

The shooting was at Thee Crazy Horse bar on West Hillsborough Avenue. It is located in a run-down building with a mostly dirt parking lot. On any given day, the lot is packed with patrons as late (or early) as 5 a.m.

But the patrons at that time of day, according to Col. Greg Brown of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, aren’t at Thee Crazy Horse, which has to close at 3 a.m. because it serves liquor. Rather, Brown says, they are at the “bottle club” next door called Glo — which is owned by the same people who own Thee Crazy Horse.

Between the two, there is a lot of crime, ranging from multiple shootings, drugs, brawls, battery, vehicle theft, fraud and pickpocketing.

According to Tribune reports, sheriff’s records show about 130 calls for service over the past 13 months at the address of the two clubs, though many were traffic stops in front of the clubs unrelated to the goings on at the bar.

Regardless, neighbors have been complaining about the crime and noise from the parking lot for years.

Sheriff David Gee told me, “Bottle clubs are typically worse than strip clubs. There is even more lewd behavior there than at strip clubs, because the bottle clubs tolerate it. Most strip clubs don’t have a lot of calls for [law enforcement] because they do a good job self-policing.”

Gee says Glo bottle club is one of just three such clubs in the county, but there were 11 when he first took office. “It’s tough to get their licenses [revoked]. But the county assures me they will never again issue a license for a bottle club,” he said.

Residents in the upscale waterfront community around Thee Crazy Horse and the Glo bottle club are fuming at all the crime, and many have contacted their county commissioners.

Commissioner Sandy Murman says she has received many calls and letters, and is working with code enforcement and the sheriff’s office to find a solution. But, she says, “To shut a business down, you have to go through a process.”

Processes aside, strip clubs and bottle clubs that invite criminal behavior are a blight on the community of Town ’N Country and Hillsborough County.

Unfortunately, when establishments like these are closed down, another one (often with the same owner) pops up in its place at the same location. Law enforcement officials say many such clubs do this never-ending game of changing owners (often to family members) to avoid scrutiny from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. I suggest to the county commission that the county should explore offering a tax cut, tax credit, millage reduction or other type of financial incentive to the landlords of properties housing strip clubs or bottle clubs if they do not re-lease their property to other such establishments after a previous strip or bottle club has closed, been shut down, or lost its lease. Furthermore, the county should establish that bars, strip clubs, bottle clubs and the like cannot be within a prescribed distance from a residential neighborhood.

In the meantime, all that residents of Town ’N Country can do is hope the sheriff’s office and code enforcement find something that will stick and lead to these scabs of the community being shut down. In all likelihood, they will, as it is unlikely Glo or Thee Crazy Horse or others like them are going to change their ways of doing business and attracting the riffraff that patronizes them.

As of press time on Thursday, the State Attorney’s Office had not announced whether charges would be filed against the bouncer who shot Angel Reyes.

Chris Ingram is a columnist, political consultant and political analyst for Bay News 9. Follow him on Twitter at: @IrreverentView.