[08/09/01] Attorneys say improvements at a downtown business will ensure public safety.

In a letter to the City of Vicksburg’s legal department about The Smoke Break at Clay and Cherry streets, local attorneys J. Mack Varner, representing the shop, said the overall atmosphere around the convenience store has been changed.

Last month, a customer died after being shot near the store. That shooting was the second in the area in less than a month and, according to E-911 records, about 800 calls for police to go to the area had been made during an 18-month period.

Mayor Laurence Leyens reacted by pledging court action to close the business as a public nuisance.

Leyens said Wednesday he is pleased with the efforts being taken.

“The owner is really being pro-active,” Leyens said. “They couldn’t do anything better.”

Already, advertisements for alcohol have been removed, and security guards have been hired to be outside on Friday and Saturday nights. The owner, Jamal Khouri, was also granted permission Tuesday by the city’s Architectural Review Board to change the name on the building, install additional outdoor lighting and erect a wooden fence along the side of the property. The new name will be Fastway.

The victim of the July 24 shooting was Eddie Baker, who was 38. Police reports said Baker had left the store and was walking north on Cherry Street when he was shot around 2:50 a.m. He died about 15 hours later at ParkView Regional Medical Center.

Three men have since been charged. Bryan Wilson, 17, 113 Springridge Drive, was arrested and charged with murder; 25-year-old Edward Wright, 1328 Bay St., and Jerry Dee, 19, 902 Blossom Lane, Apt. 501, were later charged with accessory after the fact.

The case is expected to be presented to the Warren County grand jury in October.