Sheriff’s Office: Augusta nightclubs must submit security plans following fatal shootings

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is requesting that all nightclubs in Augusta submit security plans after two recent fatal shootings at such businesses.

The same request was originally aimed at downtown establishments that serve alcohol, but it was expanded to the whole county after the shootings at Private “I“ nightclub in December and Club Viral on Sunday. Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton said it is the same letter sent to the downtown businesses last year.

“We’ve already started doing it. We delivered letters to some of the problem clubs, we are going to expand it to all the clubs,” Clayton said.

Charles Edward Lawson III, 28, and Jabrie Savonjay Domiguez, 23, were both fatally shot outside Private “I“ on Thomas Lane on Dec. 7. Antoine Redfield, 19, and Charvez Eurrique Lawson, 27, were charged with murder. According to arrest warrants, Lawson engaged in a shootout that resulted in the homicides.

On Sunday, Traquan Salley, 20, was found wounded at Club Viral on Laney-Walker Boulevard. He was later pronounced dead at AU Medical Center. Dameun Sanders, 27, had also been shot, and Dannell Sanders, 30, was arrested for the homicide and shooting.

Clayton said it’s common for fights to begin inside a club and quickly rise to serious violence once outside. He said people often go outside to “settle the scores at the end of the night”, which is one of the biggest issues in these types of incidents.

He said the department hadn’t had any problems in the past with Club Viral, but the shooting that killed Salley happened inside the club. Clayton said they are trying to learn the club’s screening procedure and how the guns got inside.

Screening procedures, designating a point of contact with the sheriff’s office and making sure patrons safely exit the premises are some of the things the agency is asking nightclubs to submit as part of their safety plans. Clayton said a deadline has not been set yet, but authorities will do so if businesses do not comply with the request.

The sheriff’s office uses its intelligence division and previous reports to increase patrols at certain nightclubs around closing time, but Clayton said each club should have security personnel. He said the sheriff’s office can’t have a deputy outside every nightclub in the county every night.

He encouraged people to contact the sheriff’s office as soon as they see a situation getting out of control or even before it reaches that point. On Sunday, the sheriff’s office wasn’t called until the incident was over, Clayton said.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you, these situations, they usually take several minutes, sometimes even longer, before they escalate into a situation like this,” he said. “If people would call us immediately, we can get there and we can intervene.”

Clayton said it’s also common to see people running towards a fight, which fuels it and makes it more dangerous for innocent bystanders.

“The only saving grace I see with these shootings of late, they could have easily resulted in an innocent bystander being shot,” he said. “Don’t make yourself an innocent bystander by running to the affray or the incident because you want to watch it.”