News

Nightclub Where Proof Was Killed Closes Its Doors

The fatal nightclub shooting that left D12 rapper Proof and 35-year-old Army veteran Keith Bender Jr. dead occurred at 4:30 a.m. -- or over two hours after the CCC nightclub was supposed to have closed for the night. Because of this infraction, and because of the club's troubled history, the club owners have reached a deal with Detroit area prosecutors that will cause them to pay $600 in fines and to close their doors for the next year.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy sued the club owners last month, claiming that their establishment was a nuisance to its neighborhood -- hosting too many after-hours episodes of violence and too many liquor-related infractions, like serving underage drinkers, during the past two years. The year-long closure is the maximum allowed by the law, although the club could be permanently shuttered if the owners don't keep their property maintained and their taxes current in the meantime, or if they refuse to change the locks and turn over the new keys to the prosecutor's office.

Bender's aunt, Leitha Etheridge-Sims, told reporters that her family had been hoping for a harsher penalty. The club owners, Alfred and Helen Thompson, refused to comment.

Worthy, meanwhile, isn't content to stop with the CCC; she wants her office to continue to pursue clubs that are defying the regulations for hours of operation.

"We are moving as quickly as we can to get those padlocked as well," she said.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
05.12.06