No nudity. No liquor. No lap dances.
Those are but three changes that must be made if V Live, a Hickory Hill nightclub, is to remain open. The strip club was shut down in June as a public nuisance after a string of violent incidents. Police had been to the club 64 times since it opened in March 2017.
The club was allowed to re-open Tuesday but will operate for one year under court-ordered probation, according to Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich.
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“Our goal is always to stop businesses from being a public nuisance and a danger to the community,” Weirich said in a statement. “But if they are willing to make substantial changes to create a safe, lawful environment then we are more than happy to work with them.”
Under the settlement agreement, V Live, at 3569 S. Mendenhall, can no longer be a strip club, will have tighter security measures, and video surveillance outside the club will be streamed directly to the Memphis Police Department.
The club must also:
• Focus on dining, televised sports entertainment, entertainers for special events, and live bands on selected nights. Dancing will be allowed, but it will no longer be a strip club and there will be no lap dances.
• Be run by a new manager and assistant manager will oversee operations and ensure compliance with the law, code regulations, and civility of conduct.
• Be allowed to sell beer and patrons can bring their own liquor. No liquor will be sold or held in storage for a patron.
• Employ new security personnel from out of town. Prior security breaches occurred because the security agent was known to patrons who could pay to enter with a firearm, according to the court document. New precautions will involve a three-step security procedure to keep firearms out of the club.
Memphis rapper RichLord (Derrick Harris) and Marcquis Hymon — both documented gang members, according to Weirich — were shot inside the club in June. Harris died of his injuries. Surveillance video showed several patrons throwing gang signs ,which led to a fight and, then, gunfire, according to Weirich’s office.
Later that month, V Live was hosting an after party for Memphis rapper Yo Gotti when patrons began shooting at a car in the club’s parking lot. A stray bullet hit passing motorist, Darrell Hinton, who died of his wounds.
In May, a a woman was shot in the leg at the club after a fight precipitated by patrons throwing gang signs at one another. Video showed seven men inside the club with two rifles and five handguns.
In November 2017, agents with the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission and vice detectives seized 242 bottles of liquor and made three arrests at the club, which does not have a license to sell liquor. Officers also have seized marijuana and cocaine inside V Live.
