Residents rally against troubled Detroit strip club
DETROIT (WJBK) - Indecent exposure, excessive noise and drug deals - it's a strip club battle on Detroit's east side.
Community leaders hope a joint called Erotic City will get shut down. It is a strip club they say has attracted violence and crime for years.
"The only way this is going to stop is if the neighborhood rises up and says we don't want this kind of garbage in our neighborhoods," said Pastor Marvin Winans or Third District.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig says detectives have been investigating the club for more than a year. They have uncovered illegal marijuana use and sales, indecent exposure, touching of dancers, unlicensed workers and noise complaints.
Police say there has also been a case of shots fired.
"In terms of what happened and what brought closure to the situation, it was the Detroit Police Department," Craig said.
Those running the club have no comment.
"We have nothing to say, nothing at all," said one employee with Erotic City.
The business license was revoked in December, but the city allowed it to stay open 90 more days.
That means the club will stay open until the end of March, according to city lawyers. Until then police have the authority to shut down the club immediately if there are more violations.
"You cannot mix alcohol, money and crime and not have a perfect storm," Winans said. "Everyone is at risk."