Two men are dead following a shooting at a local pool hall during Sunday’s early morning hours. And Chief Kenny Hampton said the pool hall owner will be facing charges, adding that he will request city leaders to permanently shut down the operation.
“This is a new regime,” Hampton said. “It is literally a matter of life and death. And I am going to do what is best for the city.”
Hampton said his officers responded to a shooting at Junior’s Bar and Lounge, located near Broadway in Yazoo City, around 4:15 a.m. last Sunday.
“We don’t know the exact details yet, but after speaking with eyewitnesses, we believe narcotics were involved,” Hampton said. “We are continuing our investigation and interviews with eyewitnesses at this time.”
Investigators believe that the two deceased men were the only ones who fired shots.
Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers said Alexis Morris, 42, and John Andrew Walker Jr., 29, died from gunshot wounds. Both men were from Yazoo City.
After being taken to a local hospital by a private vehicle, Shivers said that Walker died from his injuries. He also said Morris died after crashing his vehicle into a home on Lamar Avenue after leaving the pool hall.
No injuries were reported inside the Lamar Avenue home.
According to the city ordinance, the pool hall was supposed to be closed at the time of the incident. The city ordinance states that these establishments are to be closed at 1 a.m., and no one is to be on the premises after 1:30 a.m.
Hampton said there have been many similar incidents reported at Junior’s Bar and Lounge, which is owned by Roy Harrington Jr.
“I am going to pull the records to see how many calls we have had there over the last three years,” Hampton said. “I know it is quite a few. It is not happening every night, but it happens too frequently.”
Hampton said Harrington will be charged with violating the city ordinance, and he is working with the fire marshal to pursue public endangerment charges.
“I am working with the fire marshal because the doors were locked when the shooting happened,” Hampton said. “On Monday, I will ask that the city council revoke his license and permanently shut it down. I don’t like the fact that this place is on Broadway, where people travel through the city at any time of the week. It has got to the point where people from Yazoo drive ducking their heads through this area because they don’t know if there is going to be a shooting. It is a bad look for the city.”
Hampton said Harrington has also been deceptive while operating his pool hall.
“They were hiding cars on side streets, so when officers drove by, it appeared as if they were closed,” he said. “They were being deceptive. I have no issue closing them down. If (Harrington) had followed the rules, two souls would be left alive today. This would have never happened if he had followed the rules, and he must be held accountable.”
“It shouldn’t have gone on this long,” Hampton added. “The past city administration should have handled this. But (Mayor David Starling) told me to do what I needed to do to take care of it, and that is what I am going to do.”
And other nightclubs, bars or pool halls that violate the city ordinance on operation hours?
“It is going to be zero tolerance,” Hampton said. “If you violate the city ordinance, there are going to be consequences and repercussions. If you run it like a business and run it correctly, you will be fine. But if you open a minute after what the city ordinance says, I am taking you to jail.”
