Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a series of stories selected by the staff of The Commercial as the Top 10 local news stories of 2011.
The Nov. 13 shooting death of Walter Ashley Jr., 39, outside the Three Gables nightclub sparked debate about nightclubs and sparked citizen- and city-led efforts to reduce crime.
The homicide and the community soul-searching it inspired has been voted the No. 4 story of 2011 by The Commercial staff.
Ashley was shot to death on the Three Gables parking lot after two fights had reportedly occurred inside the club. Three other people were wounded in the incident. Police said none of the victims appeared to be involved in the fight.
Two brothers — Trammell Moore, 18, and Joshua Moore, 22 — were identified as suspects. Joshua Moore was taken into custody shortly after the incident. Trammell Moore surrendered to police two days later. Both are being held without bond on one count of capital murder and three counts of first-degree battery.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Ashley’s death was the 17th of the year in Jefferson County and the 15th inside the Pine Bluff city limits. Since then, two additional homicides have been recorded in Pine Bluff.
The day after Ashley’s death, a group of local pastors and community organizers called a press conference during which they called for the Three Gables’ closure and a shortening of the hours that nightclubs are allowed to operate in Pine Bluff.
Groups of young people under the banner of Taking Back Pine Bluff used social media to coordinate boycotts of the nightclubs and to encourage people to find alternative means of socializing. The group has since organized discussions on crime, streetside awareness rallies and social events with the goal of fighting crime and strengthening community ties.
In the weeks that followed Ashely’s death, many similar groups have held community meetings, and city officials took note.
Alderman Irene Holcomb, chair of the Pine Bluff City Council Public Safety Committee, called a special meeting during which members of the public were encouraged to bring their grievances and suggestions before the police chief, mayor, aldermen and other city officials. Followup meetings have been held and more are planned.
The City Council voted to revive a citizen-led Crime Advisory Commission and hopes to have commissioners selected and seated in the early weeks of 2012.
On Nov. 17, the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board temporarily suspended the Three Gables nightclub’s permit to sell alcohol pending an investigation into the incident. When the Nov. 13 shootings occurred, the club was already on probation for two incidents that occurred in 2010. A homicide also occurred outside the club in 2007.
In testimony before the board on Nov. 29, club owner Stacey Knott said she felt there was nothing more the club could have done to prevent the incident. Manager Andre Braswell said the club has four to six security officers who work inside the club, in addition to off-duty police officers who work security outside the club.
“You just can’t control people,” Braswell said.
On Dec. 14, the state handed down its ruling that the Three Gables had violated the “good neighbor” policy for alcohol permit holders. It fined the club $1,000 and placed it on suspension for six months, with the suspension to be held in abeyance on the condition that the club have no more violations in the next six months.
In a feature article on Ashley in The Commercial, his sister Tangrlia Ashley said he was always joking with people and was the kind of person who never met a stranger.
“We’ve had a lot of support from the community now, but we want to see what happens after this is over and what we need to do to see that things change in this community,” Tangrlia Ashley said. “It shouldn’t take a death to bring people together.”
Ashley’s sister is working on establishing a scholarship in his memory, with a portion of that going to children whose families have been impacted by violence.