Stay away from this club.

shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
River Drive strip club in shootings catches fire

Updated 8:15 a.m. Crush Gentlemen's Club, a River Drive strip club that was the location of a March 1 shooting, was this morning the scene of a fire that closed traffic on River Drive for much of the early commute.

The Columbia-Richland County Fire Department received a fire call around 6 a.m., spokesman Brick Lewis said. Crews arrived to find flames and smoke coming from a structure in the rear of the property. That fire was under control by 7 a.m., but traffic on River Drive between Lucius and Clements roads was closed until inbound lanes were opened around 7:45 a.m.. Travel resumed in both directions by 8:15 a.m.

Damages are estimated at about $100,000, Lewis said. The fire is under investigation.

A woman in the club March 1 was injured by a bullet fired from the parking lot during a fight. In another incident associated with the club, a tow truck driver reported he was shot at Wednesday morning by two men whose car he towed from the club's parking lot.

And 3 years ago a Columbia attorney shot & killed a club manager there. Club has changed names 3 times in 3 years. The last time I was there was a year ago. I am not going back.

11 comments

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samsung1
13 years ago
Is this club related to PP?
deogol
13 years ago
Changed the name - or changed the management? Because one actually promotes change...
shadowcat
13 years ago
sam - No relation but it is close by.

degold - owners & managers were changed along with the name changes. One of the previous managers was once the GM for Platinum Plus.
lovemetiddys
13 years ago
I worked there as a dancer once and they was a huge brawl in front and they were shooting in front Smh. Needless to say I worked there no more
gatorfan
13 years ago
It's not on my HOT list
shadowcat
13 years ago
And here are more reasons

Lott: Club ‘magnet for illegal activity’

Deputies dispatched to strip club 173 times in 2 years; community hopes it doesn’t reopen.

A River Drive strip club that was the site of a fire and two shootings over the past eight days has become a nuisance, community members and Richland County Sheriff’s Department officials say.

The three incidents are far from the first time officials have paid visits to Crush Gentleman’s Club.

According to data obtained by The State, deputies were sent to the club 173 times since March 7, 2010, and filed 348 incident reports involving the strip club in that time span.

The club at 3722 River Drive is closed after sustaining about $100,000 in damages in a fire early Thursday morning. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by Richland County fire marshals. Richland County deputies responded to the fire.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the strip club has become a problem for the department and the surrounding the community. It’s become such a “magnet for illegal activity” that he hopes it doesn’t reopen, he said.

“Our hope is that it would not be rebuilt,” Lott said Thursday after the club caught fire. “It’s to the community and sheriff’s department’s advantage if it’s not rebuilt.”

A worker with Crush on Thursday said the owner would not comment on the number of deputy visits to the club but said the business plans to reopen within four weeks.

Wednesday, two men shot at a tow truck driver who was moving a car that was parked there illegally. Reco Maurice Bell, 24, and Antione Demetrius Caughmun, 25, were arrested in that incident and charged with attempted murder and armed robbery.

A woman also had to be hospitalized after she was hit by a bullet passing through a wall at the club March 1. The bullet was fired during a fight in the club’s parking lot late that night.

Willie Abrams lives down the street from the club. He said he has signed petitions to try to get the club to leave the neighborhood and echoed Lott’s sentiment.

“The club is not something the neighborhood is proud of,” he said. “We wish it would go away.”

Nan Brown lives about a block away from the club in a nicely furnished rental home. On the weekends, she said the street is lined with cars as people go into the club, and in the morning, her yard is littered with flyers and cups.

But it’s not just the traffic and litter that bothers her – someone shot a hole in her house about a year ago. She can’t be sure that club patrons are responsible, but it worries her that people bring guns to the club. The bullet hole is still visible near the ceiling of her living room.

“When that happened, it made me leery for a while,” she said. “I could have been injured.”

Willie Gunn has lived near the night club for several years. He said he never worried about the club until a bouncer was shot and killed by a Columbia attorney in 2006, when the site was home to Chastity’s Gold Club. Since then, he said he’s seen more questionable customers at the club, traffic on his street, blue lights and trash.

“It’s not conducive for safe living,” he said. “You’ve got a place with drugs and weapons and people foolish enough to fire those weapons.”

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/09/21836…
wwpmi
13 years ago
wow I was in Columbia on Tuesday night. PP was not doing it for me and I was looking for a back up club. I drove by Crush and had a not to good feeling and just went back to PP and finished the evening. As it turned out I found an amazon of a dancer named Brazil which made the night bearable.
deogol
13 years ago
If it's a magnet for illegal activities, like fighting and gun shots, it sounds like the police should be glad there is a one stop shop for hooligan hunting! Throw some undercovers on the street and fill up the jails with dumb-wits.
sharkhunter
13 years ago
I've never been there and don't plan on visiting especially after all this news.
Shamrock211
13 years ago
Mmmmm-mmmm-mmmmm.

Taste the ghetto.

Clubs like that should be leveled so maybe something can be built that actual humans could go to.
deogol
13 years ago
^^^ Wal-mart? :)
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