'Tell the clerks don't go outside': Bibb County rejects alcohol license for store

MACON, Ga. — Bibb County commissioners rejected an alcohol license Tuesday for a south Macon store that's become a hot spot for violent crime.

The hearing officer wrote that the store's owners have ignored crime on their property and failed to cooperate with law enforcement.

The commission first voted in June to reject a license for the Friend's Food Mart at 3350 Houston Ave.

That came after a Macon Housing Authority official told commissioners that crime suspects often flee officers by running into the nearly Pendleton Homes project. That puts people in Pendleton at risk, the authority said.

Mayor Robert Reichert appointed attorney Tyler Kasper to hold a hearing on the issue and report back.

Kasper said the commission should stand by their original vote.

In his opinion, Kasper wrote that there's so much crime in and around 3350 Houston Ave. that the sheriff's office posted surveillance cameras to keep an eye on the area. They called it "Operation Overwatch."

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While store owners aren't responsible for all the crime in the neighborhood, Kasper wrote, they've chosen to ignore crime on or around their property.

According to testimony at the hearing, Kasper wrote:

• Store employees violate the law by allowing customers to loiter and drink on store property.
• Kenny Patel, speaking for the owners, said they've never contacted the sheriff's office about crimes in the area. He argued that that's proof that the store is safe.
• But Patel also said the store owner's policy is "tell the clerks don't go outside the store."

If employees don't feel safe going outside, Kasper wrote, "clearly it is an unsafe premise."

A different store a block away doesn't have the same track record for crime on its property, because it works to protect the area, Kasper wrote, 

The Friend's Food Mart owners could challenge the decision in court.

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