After-hours club to get more scrutiny

The state is trying to control parking in front of Wild Things on Hwy. 31 Ilfonso McGregor, a 27- year-old from Henderson, was shot and killed in the wee hours of Jan. 30. The shooting at Wild Things, an after-hours club, near the county line west of Kilgore, was not the first at that establishment.

Sheriff Maxey Cerliano hopes it was the last.

“I have had a personal meeting with Tony Watkins, the owner, and have put him on notice that we’re going to use whatever means necessary to enforce all the laws at his establishment,” Cerliano said this week.

Those enforcement efforts may result in the club going out of business.

Wild Things is not the only after-hours club in the area, Cerliano said, “but it draws the biggest crowds and we get more calls for service from Wild Things.”

The department also gets frequent calls from The Showboat, an after-hours club east of Kilgore on FM349.

So-called “after-hours clubs” are not licensed to sell alcohol in any form. Patrons bring their own beer or liquor, so most state liquor laws don’t apply.

Cerliano said the club is certainly subject to county laws and regulations.

The county fire marshal may inspect the building to be sure the crowd doesn’t exceed occupancy limits, the health department may inspect their sewer system, the sheriff ’s office may do a walk-through to check for violations of public intoxication rules.

“If it means using the occupancy code, that’s what we’re going to do. If it’s sewer, then we’ll do that. We’re going to enforce the law out there,” Cerliano said.

After-hours clubs attract customers who are looking for somewhere to go after the bars and nightclubs close down, he said. “A lot of these people have been to other clubs that serve alcohol and then show up at Wild Things and stay until closing time or daylight, whichever comes first.”

The sheriff says the county has already stepped up its activity in that neighborhood. “We’ve worked with TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) to get signs up out there that say No Parking On Roadway. Folks were parking on the shoulder of the highway out there and we’ve had people get run over,” he said.

Cerliano did not challenge an oft-repeated story that shots are fired or knives are pulled at the club almost every weekend.

“It does require regular calls for service. The calls may come from someone there, maybe Tony (the owner) or a victim. We’ve had people get assaulted out there and us not get the call until the person shows up at a hospital in Tyler or Longview,” he said.

Cerliano said Watkins told him he intends to sell the property and a “for sale” sign has been posted in front of the building. “But I have no idea how much he’s got invested in it and what he’s asking for it,” he said.

The sheriff has known Watkins a long time.

“I joined Kilgore police department in 1978 and my relationship with Tony ‘Red’ Watkins goes back about that far. My meeting after this (shooting) wasn’t my first with the owner. I’ve never had any trouble sitting down and talking with him.” Cerliano said.

Unregulated clubs like Wild Thing and The Showboat are not limited to areas where alcohol is sold. “It’s not a wet countydry county issue … I think there are some in Rusk County,” he said.