Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Carnesale declared Elleven45 Lounge a public nuisance late Friday, following the city of Atlanta's push for an injunction to close the Buckhead nightclub. During a two-day hearing, evidence of the venue's disorderly conduct was brought forth, alongside the surprising arrest of the nightclub's owner, Djibril Dafe, on unrelated charges.
The injunction, targeting Elleven45 Lounge, LLC; Sovereign Entertainment, Inc.; owner Djibril Dafe; Ahmed Uwhubetine; Bennett Street Properties, LP; and Wilmington Trust National Association, came nearly three months after a deadly shooting at the establishment. "This court finds there is sufficient evidence that was presented that shows conditions created by Elleven45, which clearly was operating as a nightclub, were in fact a nuisance to those members of the public who came into contact with it regularly when it was open for business," Judge Carnesale said, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Judge Carnesale pointed to ongoing issues, such as alcohol sales to minors, illegal drug sales, traffic congestion, and loud music as indicators of the club's repeated disregard for regulations. Based on this, she expressed a lack of confidence in Dafe's ability or willingness to change business practices in response to citations or license suspensions, "The evidence is sufficient to convince this court that citation and suspension of licenses is not sufficient to abate this nuisance based on the facts that the business appears to disregard licensing and lease requirements," she explained, as per FOX 5 Atlanta report.
Dafe's arrest during Thursday's hearing emerged from a failure to appear for a May 14 hearing related to charges including identity theft fraud, theft by taking, and theft by deception. The charges followed an April 18, 2022, incident. This happened two days after the deadly shooting at Elleven45 that left Marion Crayton and Nicholas Ridley dead, and several others injured, "It was just complete chaos. There were several people on the ground that appeared to be shot," Atlanta Police Officer Dajuan Walker, one of the responders, said in a testimony obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta.
The decision to close the nightclub extends to any potential rebranding attempts, even if a restaurant license is acquired, and the property owner, Bennett Street Properties, has been ordered not to allow such activities on the premises. With this decisive action against Elleven45 Lounge, the court seeks to mitigate the nuisance that has affected the area for more than a year, responding to the community's call for intervention and accountability.
