A fight that broke out inside a Sandy Springs nightclub early Saturday spilled into the parking lot and ended in gunfire, injuring two people and setting off a chain of events that led city officials to shut the business down entirely. Sandy Springs Police officers were dispatched to Nubia Café and Restaurant at approximately 5:43 a.m. on August 15 after receiving reports of a shooting, according to the dossier's law-enforcement timeline.
The business, located in Suite C1 at 8599 Roswell Road, was already operating well past legal hours when the violence erupted. As reported by WSB-TV, investigators said a 34-year-old man got into a fight with 28-year-old Bienvenu Deounoudjou inside the club, and that confrontation continued into the parking lot outside. The 34-year-old man was shot several times in his arm and upper chest and was taken to a hospital, where he was later released after treatment. Deounoudjou was also taken to a hospital after being shot in the leg, which police said happened inadvertently.
Deounoudjou now faces charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, per the station's report. Under Georgia Code § 16-5-21, an aggravated assault conviction involving a deadly weapon carries a sentence of 1 to 20 years in state prison, according to Ross & Pines. The separate firearm charge carries its own consequences: Georgia Code § 16-11-106 mandates a five-year prison sentence for carrying a gun during a felony, one that must run consecutively to any sentence tied to the underlying crime, according to Kaufman Law.
Inspectors Find an Unlicensed After-Hours Club
The shooting timeline itself raised red flags for investigators. Under Sandy Springs municipal code, establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption are barred from pouring between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and after 1:55 a.m. on Sundays, according to the City of Sandy Springs. A shooting call at nearly 6 a.m. on a Saturday meant the venue was hosting patrons hours after it should have legally stopped serving.
That discrepancy prompted a closer look. Detectives determined that Nubia Café was operating as an illegal after-hours establishment without the required city permits or state licenses, leading to its immediate shutdown, according to 11Alive. On Wednesday, four days after the shooting, the Sandy Springs Police Department, Sandy Springs Fire Department, and Code Enforcement carried out a joint emergency inspection of the property, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. That coordinated approach lets city officials assess fire safety, health, building, and licensing compliance all at once.
Owner Cited, Building Has a Troubled Past
Code enforcement found licensing and permitting violations during the inspection and shut the business down. Business owner Frank Lyonga received multiple municipal citations tied to the unlicensed commercial operations uncovered at the property, FOX 5 Atlanta reports. Police have not said whether Lyonga will face additional legal charges beyond the code citations, and that question remains open.
This is not the first time the address has drawn scrutiny from the city. The same commercial property at 8599 Roswell Road was the site of a February 2026 police raid that closed Jade Spa over prostitution and human trafficking allegations, part of what the city called Operation No Safe Haven, according to Patch. The repeat enforcement activity at the same commercial center underscores an ongoing challenge for the city along the Roswell Road corridor.
Sandy Springs Code Enforcement relies on sworn officers who enforce zoning, health, and fire codes, a structure bolstered by a 2023 City Council initiative that expanded inspection staff to conduct annual compliance checks, according to the City of Sandy Springs. That expanded staffing is what allowed the city to move quickly once the shooting exposed the club's unlicensed status.
The Nubia Café closure adds to a string of violent incidents that Sandy Springs authorities have had to respond to in recent months. Hoodline has reported on a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in the city earlier this year, part of a broader pattern of gun violence local police have been contending with across Sandy Springs.
