City Takes Action Against West Bowie Village
A court order initiated by the City of Bowie has halted scheduled activities as investigation continues on West Bowie Village Hall.
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A Prince George's County Circuit Court judge today issued a temporary injunction against the owners and operators of the West Bowie Village Hall, after a double shooting there Saturday morning.
Judge Beverly J. Woodard's order forbids, "any commercial dance or other commercial event to which tickets are sold or admission charged to the general public" at the facility.
The order remains in force until a hearing is held no later than Oct. 25 on the issue of whether the injunction should be made permanent or dissolved.
The court action was initiated by the City of Bowie. The city alleges in its pleading that, "the magnitude of the potential harm is demonstrated by the death and personal injury caused by or arising, in action with or as a consequence of previous similar activities by the defendants."
A 26-year-old man was killed and a 26-year-old Washington D.C. man was critically wounded in the parking lot of the West Bowie Village Hall after an all-night party there which ended at 5 a.m. Kenneth Lamarr Prince, 26, of the 5800 block of Fountain Road in Oxon Hill was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The second victim, whom police declined to identify, remains hospitalized.
According to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, the property is owned by Douglas C. Winger, president of Maryland Construction Inc. and Toby N. Byrd, a partner in Bowie law firm, Byrd and Byrd.
Nick Morfaw, the operator, was also named as a co-defendant in the action, according to City Manager David Deutsch.
The defendants did not contest the issuance of the preliminary injunction which was issued by consent of all of the parties.
The city believes the West Bowie Village Hall is in violation of its use and occupancy permit, said Deutsch in an e-mail.
Mayor G. Frederick Robinson said the city pursued legal action to put an immediate stop the public events at the club during the investigation and review of the zoning and permit issues related to the hall.
"Neighbors should have a sense of security that this practice that gave rise to the incident will stop. We are in the process of reviewing it to make sure it will never happen again," Robinson said.
Robinson said he wanted to thank the city council and city staff for moving so quickly on the matter.
Bowie Mike
12:08 am on Saturday, October 16, 2010
Kudos to city officials for acting so quickly!
busy bee
12:10 am on Saturday, October 16, 2010
Kudos city of Bowie for taking the right action. I think the hall should be shut down ...evidently, this place is a cover for xrated, rauchy and lewd acts. We do not want this in our neighborhood and around our kids. Thank you Mr, Mayor for putting an immediate stop to this. Let's keep it shut and replace it with a business that serves our community well not bring armed gunmen to our backyard.
pgcoresident
7:11 am on Saturday, October 16, 2010
Bravo bowie! one of the few times the government had done the right thing-and in a timely fashion!
Kimberly Clark
9:12 am on Saturday, October 16, 2010
Great job city of Bowie! Thank you Mr Robinson and the council for recognizing the urgency with fixing the problem. Unlike Mr Dahms who has poo poo'd everyone from our mayor to the former editor of the Blade, I feel fortunate to have such wonderful people in our beautiful city! Thanks Ms Rauck and Bowie Patch for keeping us informed!
Auntie Agatha's Sister
9:06 pm on Saturday, October 16, 2010
I echo those that have congratulated the City of Bowie for enforcing its zoning laws. They should have been enforced before this tragedy happened, however. The murder in West Bowie is not the first incident of its kind locally. There was a similar incident outside an all-night club down the road in Seabrook not long ago. Why must someone die before our laws are enforced?
pgcoresident
3:20 pm on Monday, October 18, 2010
I wonder though who's supposed to enforce it? Police don't normally have anything to do with zoning violations do they? even though they'd be the most likely to know that something is going on down there... But who would know that it's in violation of zoning or permits?
As far as parties are concerned, I know police have to walk a fine line between allowing citizens to enjoy themselves, and being too authoritarian and not allowing anything at all to go on..
busy bee
12:04 pm on Friday, October 29, 2010
Has anyone heard anything about this. The temporary injunction expired Oct 25. So does that mean that the city will let West Bowie Hall carry on business as usual? I still see ads for upcoming commercial reggae events at that location which means it's open to all and bringing in the same crowd. What is the status on this anyone?
busy bee
12:08 pm on Friday, October 29, 2010
November 20 event is taking place at West Bowie Hall. Isn't this the same type of event that was held there when the shooting occurred?
http://www.bashmentlinkup.com/events.html
Mimi Rauck
6:01 pm on Friday, October 29, 2010
Hi Busy Bee -- According to Asst. City Mgr. John Fitzwater, the hall cannot hold public, ticketed events. Here's what Fitwater told me in an email: "The Preliminary Injunction did the same thing as the Temporary Restraining Order. Therefore, they are still enjoined from having commercial dance parties or other commercial events where tickets are sold. This is an open ended order at this point. .." Thanks for reading!
Joseph E. Myers Sr
10:03 am on Saturday, January 8, 2011
I agree that the Hall should not have ticketed, public all night events...it definitely attracts the wrong crowd which resulted in the unfortunate loss of life. I do think the Hall would be a great place for private events like birthday parties, wedding receptions, retirement luncheons and other activities for our wonderful community if and only if it is managed properly and have events end at a reasonable hour (say by 11:00 or 12:00.
princess
4:31 am on Saturday, September 3, 2011
Well my cousin wasn't the "wrong ppl" its sad its about to b a,yr an no1 has been caught an no1 from this hall has apologized to my family. To the Hall of bowie an to the person who took a loving father an cousin an son away justice will b served!!!!!!!!!!
Sharp Shooter
12:29 pm on Saturday, September 3, 2011
@princess - perhaps you forgot you're submitting your comments to a public forum. I suspect your veiled threat against the owners/management of the West Village Bowie Hall wouldn't be taken lightly should something unfortunate happen.