The scheduled preliminary hearing for Karanji Reese, the 21-year-old suspect in the Elleven45 Lounge shooting that resulted in two fatalities and left four wounded, has been postponed until September 3, as per court documents—this delay attributed to the reassignment of an attorney, reports FOX 5 Atlanta. Reese faces charges including two counts of murder, and six counts of aggravated assault, after the incident on Peachtree Street in Buckhead on May 12; he surrendered to authorities nearly a month later and is currently held without bond in Fulton County Jail.
In reaction to the tragic event, where 21-year-old Marion Crayton and 20-year-old Nicholas Ridley were killed, the Elleven45 nightclub was declared a public nuisance by Fulton County Superior Court, a ruling that will permit the City of Atlanta to proceed with the permanent closure of the establishment, Atlanta News First has reported. Club owner Djibril Dafe has also been taken into custody on a separate identity theft fraud charge; the detention occurred during one of the hearings related to the lounge.
According to last week's decision by Judge Rachelle Carnesale, "This court has found that Elleven45 is in fact a public nuisance, and petitioners request the court issue an order permanently enjoining and prohibiting respondents from holding events, serving patrons, or conducting and/or allowing any other manner of operation on the property as set forth in the petition and the amended petition is hereby granted," according to Atlanta News First. One of the victims caught in the crossfire was Mari Creighton, a Georgia college student who was slated to graduate in December, and her mother was present in court when the judge’s ruling was delivered.
