Crime-plagued nightclub slapped with probation in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta leaders on Tuesday put a crime-plagued business on notice that it could lose its liquor license.

Club Rain is now on six months of probation.

The club will also need three special officers posted there anytime it’s open.

Questions were raised over whether the club is a magnet for crime after a 22-year-old man was shot dead in January at the business at 1855 Gordon Highway.

There’s precedent for Tuesday’s action, “It seems as though this is becoming an epidemic across Augusta,” said Commissioner Stacy Pulliam.

In May, another bar, Level 9 Sports Bar & Grill at 3054 Damascus Road, received the same punishment after a series of shootings, one of which was fatal.

The sheriff’s office initially wanted Club Rain’s license suspended, but confusion on how a recent deadly shooting went down reduced the punishment to probation.

“At first, they said it was all in the front. Now they’re saying they found bullets in the back. I’m confused here, I really am,” said Owner Voncellies Allen.

The action against Club Rain comes as city leaders are looking at whether certain businesses have become magnets for crime.

Also in the negative spotlight is Smart Grocery, 3221 Wrightsboro Road, the site of several shootings in recent years – two of them fatal.

The owner blames the problem on a cluster of high-crime apartment complexes nearby.

The owner and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office say they’ve been working together to tame the violence, but the Augusta Commission wants to send a message and hold the business owner accountable.

Property Owner Sae Pak said, “We do have the special duty. We will continue that throughout the years. Another thing I did do is I reached out to all of the tenants, and we talked about closing up at an earlier time, and they all agreed.”

But commissioners still looked at probation for them to be fair to Club Rain.

“This was brought to us by the sheriff’s office, and in my mind, we’re not backing the sheriff’s department if we don’t support some form of probation,” said Commissioner Sean Frantom. “If there’s no action by this body, then they don’t have to do anything, so they can do what they want.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, city leaders decided against probation for Smart Grocery or Stop and Shop, another targeted convenience store.

Flooding follow-up

Also Tuesday, the commission decided to go back to the legal staff concerning flooding victims from a storm in June 2023.

After a thorough presentation on flood areas around Rocky Creek, as well as the commission admitting the city faces legal action regarding the flooding, it appeared certain items needed to be addressed.

These items include a rail track and areas that need to be cleaned out even during low-flooding storms.

Funds would come from stormwater fees and the engineering department.

The city may also try to get the Georgia Department of Transportation involved to help develop a solution, as well as for funding – even though an audit found the city takes in millions more than it spends in stormwater fees paid by utility customers.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting

• The commission decided the Central Services Department will develop the scope of work needed to replace both the electrical and the floating dock systems at the Fifth Street Marina. Some community members raised concerns a few weeks ago about claims that the power and water service were being shut off at the marina, where some boat owners live on their vessels.
• Commission members agreed to take a field trip to so-called slumlord areas of the city along with employees of several city departments.
• Leaders approved $140,000 to create a deputy marshal commission and a corporal position and buy safety gear in support of the Richmond County Marshal’s Office’s expanded litter program.

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