MEMPHIS, Tenn. — VLive Memphis, a southeast Memphis strip club that was closed by authorities as a public nuisance after several shootings and drug arrests, will reopen under court supervision.
The club will be under new management and will no longer be a strip club, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said Tuesday. It will reopen for a one-year probationary period.
“It will be an establishment people can go to and they can dine and they can watch football games or sporting events on the television,” attorney William Massey said.
The club on South Mendenhall will be required to have tighter security and video surveillance, according to a settlement order from Environmental Court Judge Patrick Dandridge.
“The judge imposed a very strict set of conditions on the re-opening of VLive,” Massey said.
The club was temporarily closed in June after an investigation showed 64 calls for illegal activity since the club’s March 2017 opening. During that time there also had been shootings inside and outside the club resulting in several injuries and the deaths of two people.
District Attorney General Amy Weirich’s office listed the following crimes associated with VLive”
“Sheriff’s officers and MGU investigators reported that on June 30, 2017, the club was hosting an after party for Memphis rapper Yo Gotti when patrons of the club fired shots at a vehicle on the V Live Memphis parking lot. A stray bullet hit a passing motorist driving on South Mendenhall. The victim, Darrell Hinton, 24, was hospitalized in critical condition and died on May 19 this year from his injuries. The shooter has not been identified.
“In an incident on June 10 this year, Derrick Harris, a rapper known as RichLord, and Marcquis Hymon, both documented gang members, were shot inside the club by an unidentified male. Harris, 32, died of his gunshot injuries on June 25. Surveillance video showed several patrons throwing gang signs which led to a fight and shots being fired inside the club, causing mass panic.
“In an incident on May 20 this year, a female patron was shot in the leg during a fight that also was precipitated by patrons throwing rival gang signs at one another. Surveillance video shows seven men armed with two rifles and five handguns running inside the club and heading outside. The victim said she was running to her car in the parking lot when she heard 15 to 20 shots and felt a sharp pain in her lower left leg.
“On Nov. 8, 2017, agents with the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission and vice detectives seized 242 bottles of liquor and made three arrests at the V Live Memphis club, which does not have a license to sell liquor. Officers also have seized marijuana and cocaine inside the club.”
