After shooting, club abandons live music
South Laurel residents, several of whom said they wanted J’s shut down because of violence there, made it clear Kim has his work cut out for him ahead of a May 2 license board hearing where opponents plan to argue against the renewal of J’s liquor license. On March 14, the Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners fined J’s $10,000 for violations the night a 29-year-old Suitland man was fatally shot in the club’s parking lot as a go-go performance was letting out. Travis Lashawn Robinson, a crane operator apprentice and the father of two young daughters, was the third man fatally shot near the club in less than three years. Robinson’s murder was unsolved as of late last week. License Board Chairman Franklin Jackson scolded Kim, who purchased J’s four months ago, for delays in phasing out go-go bands, which Jackson said commissioners had previously told the owner attract unruly crowds. The Jan. 28 shooting was ‘‘clearly foreseen,” Jackson said. ‘‘This board told you that it would happen,” he said to Kim. Kim testified J’s was replacing go-go acts with jazz and rhythm-and-blues groups that he said had already begun to draw older, tamer crowds on other nights of the week. Robinson was killed around 3 a.m. on a Sunday, following a Saturday night show. Robinson’s half-brother, Aaron Bynum, was prepared to testify at last week’s hearing, only to learn that public input would not be heard until the protest hearing May 2. Midway through the hearing, however, Bynum rose from his seat and announced that he plans a lawsuit against the club. ‘‘My own brother was killed because of his negligence,” yelled Bynum, referring to Kim. Prince George’s police Capt. Scott Haines, acting commander for District 6, in testimony detailed two additional shootings near the club over the past year. A male suspect involved in a dispute with a J’s bouncer on Dec. 31 fired multiple shots at a police officer while leaving the establishment in a vehicle, Haines said. Commissioners found that on the night of the Jan. 28 shooting, J’s violated several conditions of its liquor license, including provisions restricting band promoters’ involvement with the business and the posting of promotional flyers. The board, after accepting J’s offer to drop live music and patron dancing, imposed no penalties other than the $10,000 fine, however. J’s will be allowed to reopen once it obtains a valid use and occupancy permit. County inspectors on Feb. 2 discovered J’s was operating illegally under a permit belonging to the club’s previous owner, Crystal Plaza Restaurant Inc. County Councilman Thomas Dernoga (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel, one of four public officials to testify, said J’s flouting of county code by failing to obtain a valid use and occupancy permit demonstrated a ‘‘cavalier” attitude and asked the license board to revoke J’s license. ‘‘When you have owners who don’t think the law applies to them, what does that say about them?” Dernoga said. Kim and his attorney, Granville Templeton, said they have already presented tentative plans to residents and public officials for a restaurant whose menu and hours would be patterned after renowned family establishments, such as T.G.I. Friday’s. Maria Agres, of Citizens Against Sexual Exploitation, a group formed in late 2005 to oppose another South Laurel nightclub that initially planned to offer adult dancing, said she was disappointed by a prototype menu that she said contained mostly fried food. She said its offerings would mainly be of interest to people drinking alcohol, not people coming only to dine. Kim stressed that the plans are preliminary and said he’s open to suggestions. Drew Maio, a music promoter who lives in South Laurel, said after the hearing that he felt safe at the club and was disappointed it will no longer host bands. ‘‘I had no problems. I walked in, I walked out,” he said. E-mail Steve Earley at searley@gazette.net.
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