Columbus police on Friday closed a troubled after-hours club in the 5 thousand block of Karl Road. A Franklin County judge ordered the closing of the LaRue Banquet Facility, which has been the site of four recent shootings, as well as several assaults, robberies and illegal drug and alcohol sales. The judge has scheduled a preliminary hearing for Thursday, when city prosecutors will ask that the facility remain closed as the case makes its way through the courts. Democratic State Representative David Leland of Columbus says work by the Columbus City Attorney’s office, the Columbus Division of Police and community activists to shut down nuisance properties in the Northland area prompted him to sponsor legislation that would make it easier for police to close properties with a history of violence and legal problems.
Leland’s proposal would change the definition of the term “nuisance” in Ohio law to include places where violent acts take place.
