The window of the Downtown Pawn Shop was broken out by vandals Monday night. (The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[01/03/01] Even with increased police patrols, a downtown merchant said Tuesday he will retire because of vandalism.

Jesse Wyatt, 68, owner of Downtown Pawn Shop, said the stress of dealing with broken windows has led him to early retirement. In addition, the entrance to his shop smells of urine.

“These people are standing right in front of my business and going to the bathroom,” he said.

Wyatt said when he arrived Tuesday morning at his business at 1209 Washington St., which is next door to one of several downtown nightclubs, he found one of his windows broken and another one cracked.

“These clubs are never going to mix with tourism,” Wyatt said. “This kind of stuff is bad for our town.”

In November, Police Chief Mitchell Dent beefed up police presence downtown after a Washington Street nightclub owner videotaped disturbances going on two blocks from Wyatt’s business.

The tape, made by Robert Smith of Attitudes, showed dozens of people wandering up and down the street in front of Coach’s, which is next door to Wyatt’s shop, with open containers of alcohol in violation of a city law against public consumption of intoxicants.

Addressing Wyatt’s complaints, Dent said he will continue to increase police patrols on foot and in cars downtown.

“We are going to do whatever is necessary to make sure this kind of behavior doesn’t happen,” Dent said.

Another block that Smith taped was home in 1999 to Club T-Rel’s, which was at 1501 Washington St. The club was once shut down early by Vicksburg Police after rambunctious crowds gathered in the street. The lease on the building expired a few months later and was not renewed.

In November 2000, Club Mista Naked’s held its grand opening at that address amid complaints of unruly crowds from downtown merchants.

The manager of the club, Kenneth Johnson, said he hired extra guards for the opening night party and his patrons were not violent or out of control.

Wyatt said he is selling the business he has run for 21 years partly because of the stress he suffers from dealing with the effects of the nightclubs.

Victoria Nelson, who will soon be the new pawn shop owner, said she worries about how her business will fare.

“On Monday you come in, and there are beer bottles and whiskey bottles everywhere, and it looks horrible,” Nelson said.

Stan Scallions, who works at Scallions’ Jewelers, said he thinks there needs to be a change.

“We’ve had people using the bathroom in front of the store and leaving bottles everywhere, and last year we had a window broken out,” Scallions said.

Main Street Director Rosalie Theobald said she has commended the police for their increased presence.

“This is something that is going to be ongoing and it can’t be solved overnight, but I think the police are doing good,” she said.