Some Vineville neighbors of a convenience store raided for suspected illegal gambling would not be sorry to see it shut for good.
People who live near the Bateman and Wade Grocery at Clayton Street and Rogers Avenue in Macon say it took a turn for the worse after coming under new ownership.
On her street in historic Vineville, Yvonne Miller says this is not the neighborhood she moved to 13 years ago because of one store.
"It used to attract people who came for Bateman and Wade groceries," she explains. "There might be mothers buying infant formula and things like that, people buying food, fruit. Now, you can't buy any food there."
Now, she says, the mom and pop shop has turned to a bottle shop.
"Cigarettes, liquor and gambling," are the only things Miller says you can buy.
Ron Lemon lives across the street from Bateman and Wade, and he says the view from his front porch is not a good one.
"Late night gambling at two or three o'clock in the morning," he says. "We've had gangs hanging out in front and drug dealings next door."
"On my sidewalk and on my lawn, I constantly find these small little drug baggies," Miller says.
When owner Krunal Patel asked the county Planning and Zoning board for permission to make changes to the exterior, the neighbors fought back. They argued that the bright LED lights over the parking lot were already a violation.
"I can read the newspaper at night in my bedroom," Lemon says.
The lights shine day and night.
The store "switched to 24 hours without the neighborhood knowing," Miller says. "They kind of pulled a fast one on us."
Nothing changed, however, until the store was raided Wednesday for alleged illegal gambling.
Last month, the Planning and Zoning board's design review board decided those lights would need to be taken down.
Patel did not show up at the meeting, and those lights are still there.
"The owners refused to show up," Miller says, "and basically just thumbed their nose at the neighborhood."
Lemon and Miller are not alone. Dozens of letters were sent to Bibb County Planning and Zoning calling Bateman and Wade "a magnet for drugs", a "gambling parlor", and "a disgrace."
Neighbors don't necessarily want to see the store gone, just back to its former glory.
"We'd like to either see it go back to a neighborhood grocery store with reduced hours. I'd love to see a neighborhood community center," suggests Lemon.
Bateman and Wade was one of ten convenience stores raided by GBI agents and Bibb sheriff's deputies.
The Bibb District Attorney alleges that Krunal Patel was part of a racket that used the stores as fronts for illegal gambling.
Four suspects including Krunal Patel are charged with racketeering, commercial gambling and currency violations. Two others were charged with commercial gambling.
