A local judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the owners of the Mississippi Arts & Entertainment of Hattiesburg facility at 811 Timothy Lane – formerly known as Club Empire – after they did now show up for a scheduled November 13 hearing in Forrest County Chancery Court.
Randy Pope, who serves as attorney for the City of Hattiesburg, said Chancellor Rhea Sheldon signed the order, which prohibits the owners from operating any kind of business at the Timothy Lane location for the next 14 days. Another hearing has been scheduled for November 27 at Perry County Circuit Court in New Augusta, which is where Sheldon is hearing cases that day.
“I’m now trying to get (the owners) served with process, and then we’ll be able to go a little further, but this is the first step,” Pope said. “The premise is closed to business until further order of the court.”
On October 17 – following almost too many criminal incidents to count at the club – Hattiesburg City Council members voted 5-0 to “permanently abate the public nuisance” at the club, via Resolution #2023-161. That measure came after several calls during which officers from the Hattiesburg Police Department responded to fights, assaults, disorderly conduct, shootings, possession of drugs and weapons, burglaries and violations of city ordinances.
“We’ve been to court with them … this (is) the third time, so it’s not unlike some of these other clubs that we’ve had to deal with, with shootings and fights and all kinds of misbehavior,” Pope said in an earlier story. “Our police are having to spend an inordinate amount of time, especially on the weekends, dealing with this.”
Shortly after the council’s decision, the club’s owners surrendered their privilege tax license and advised city officials the club would be going out of business.
“But there’s no guarantee they’re not going to change their minds,” Pope said. “So we’re going to go ahead with (this next hearing), although as far as I know the business hasn’t been open since about the 18th of October.”
Assuming Pope is able to serve the owners with process, several police officers are expected to testify at the November 27 hearing and the city will present its case.
“It’s up to (the owners) to put on a case, if they want to put a case on at all,” Pope said. “That’s up to them.
“But we will be fully prepared to put our case on, and it will be up to the judge to make this temporary order more permanent. So that will be up to her.”
The most recent incident at the club occurred on the night of October 7, when a woman was shot in the leg in front of the facility. That incident comes after eight similar or lesser occurrences at that site since early 2019.
“The city council of the City of Hattiesburg has determined that the continued and repeated obnoxious and illegal activities occurring in and near the Arts & Entertainment Club constitutes a public nuisance,” Resolution #2023-161 states. “Officers of the Hattiesburg Police Department have been repeatedly called to deal with said fights, assaults, disorderly conduct, shootings, possession of drugs and weapons, and burglaries to vehicles in the Arts & Entertainment Club parking lot, including (the recent shooting incident).
“The city council of the City of Hattiesburg has determined that the continued and repeated obnoxious and illegal activities occurring in and near the Arts & Entertainment Club constitutes a public nuisance.”
The occurrences stretch back to January 2019, when two people were shot following an altercation at Club Empire. The next month, officials from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement, along with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, executed six search warrants at the property because of reports of illegal gambling, illegal sales of alcohol and sightings of drugs and weapons.
That same month, a judge ordered the temporary closure of the club pending a hearing; in May of that year, a man was shot in the leg at the club. In late August 2021, another man was shot, and a bullet grazed a woman during a shooting at the site.
In September 2021, council members passed a resolution ordering temporary closures at the club, along with similar measures at Roper’s Rockin’ Country on U.S. 49.
During an executive session on September 21, 2021, council members – after hearing from members of the Hattiesburg Police Department – declared Club Empire a nuisance, at which point Pope was approved to file and seek an injunction against the club.
In October 2021, Stacey Daniels, the owner of Club Empire, agreed to permanently close that facility after Hattiesburg officials declared it a nuisance because of the aforementioned incidents. Daniels met with Chancellor Rhea Sheldon shortly after that, and the judged mandated that Daniels and his business partners and associates – some of whom are also defendants in the matter – would not be allowed to open another nightclub within the city limits of Hattiesburg.
Daniels then sold the establishment to its current owners. However, Pope said that city officials have video evidence that Daniels is still involved with the club, against judge’s orders.
“It’s clearly a club, but before this, they rented out parties and events and so forth, but it’s still a club, and he’s still involved, so we’re going to have to deal with it,” Pope said. “I don’t think they can control the crowds that come, and we’ve done this before.
“So this is just another one that we’re having to deal with, and I think it was significant that the (council’s) vote was 5-0 – it was a unanimous vote. That, to me, is the council and the administration being together on this, so that’s good as far as I’m concerned.”
