The Elleven45 Lounge in Buckhead is a public nuisance and cannot reopen after a fatal Mother’s Day shooting that left two patrons dead and several others injured, an Atlanta judge ruled Friday.
Following a two-day hearing, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Carnesale granted the city of Atlanta’s request to prohibit the club’s operation. A city attorney called the club “a death trap for the unwary” citing its inadequate security and violation of various ordinances.
Gunfire erupted May 12 inside the Elleven45 Lounge on Peachtree Road, killing 21-year-old Mari Creighton, a college volleyball player, and 20-year-old Nakyris Ridley, who police said was the intended target. Four others were shot but survived.
The club has been closed since the incident. It owes the city more than $78,000 in water bills and hasn’t paid its rent to landlord Bennett Street Properties since the shooting, witnesses testified Friday.
Creighton’s parents, who sat through the hearing, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they’re pleased with the judge’s decision. They’re separately seeking compensation from the club through a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Jack Brown, one of four owners of Bennett Street Properties, told Carnesale that he supports the city’s effort to permanently close Elleven45. He said he was surprised and disturbed to learn during the hearing that the club has violated city ordinances.
“We’ve been in this neighborhood for 44 years,” Brown said. “We expect our tenants to be good neighbors. We expect them to comply with ordinances.”
City officials testified Friday that they discovered unpermitted construction at the club in 2023 and issued a stop work order in relation to a patio. Owner Djibril Dafe had refused to accept citations, one official said.
Dafe, 40, was taken into custody Thursday on a bench warrant, several hours after the hearing in the city’s case began. He was booked into the Fulton County Jail, charged with failing to appear in court in a separate case.
Dafe was indicted in December on three felony charges of identity theft, theft by taking and theft by deception, court records show. He was due to be arraigned in May, but failed to appear in court. Dafe, accused of getting a $25,000 loan in someone else’s name, was released from jail Saturday on a $5,000 bond.
Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Dafe’s attorney, Terry Bailey, said Dafe was out of the country for most of May and June.
Bailey argued that Elleven45 should be allowed to reopen, noting that it had purchased metal detectors and revised its security protocol since the shooting.
“We’re very sad and empathetic to the events that happened on May 12,” Bailey said. “We believe we have taken measures to abate (any nuisance).”
Pat Dixon, an attorney for the city, said Elleven45 was supposed to be operating as a restaurant, and that its operation as a nightclub was illegal.
“Patrons were allowed to bring ammunition and guns into the facility because the security was woefully inadequate,” Dixon said. “We did have smoking and marijuana on the premises. There was evidence of stabbings within the facility.”
Kelly Harrison, who lives less than a mile from Elleven45, testified Friday about its impact on the community, saying she doesn’t feel safe when the club is open. Harrison, the vice president of the Peachtree Hills Civic Association, said some of the group’s members are afraid to visit stores near the club due to the crime it attracts. She said the noise and traffic generated by Elleven45 is unbearable.
“I just don’t think the club needs to be in such a highly residential area,” Harrison said. “The noise, the crime, the derelict (nature) of the building is terrible. It’s an eyesore. They’re not good neighbors to the rest of the community.”
Karanji Reese, 21, was arrested on June 5 and charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in relation to the May 12 shooting. Prosecutors said Reese fired a gun inside Elleven45 after Ridley punched him, citing the club’s security footage.
In addition to the city’s case, Elleven45 faces three other lawsuits in relation to the shooting.
On June 4, Creighton’s parents filed a wrongful death case. The mother of Ridley’s child filed a wrongful death complaint on the child’s behalf on June 11, seeking to recover at least $5 million in damages. Several days later, one of the injured patrons, Downell Laster, brought his own case alleging negligence.
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