Shooting victim was leaving party|[7/20/05]

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 20, 2005

A Vicksburg man killed this weekend at a club near downtown was leaving a 50th birthday party when shots were fired at him and a cousin as they got into a car to leave.

David W. “Jones” Anderson, 41, 4719 Gibson Road, was getting into a car Sunday morning parked on the street outside the Elks Lodge at 2916 Walnut St., when he and a passenger, John King, 38, 2006 Ford St., were shot. Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene, and King was taken to the hospital.

A sister of Anderson’s who asked not to be identified said the family of 15 brothers and sisters was shocked by the shooting because her brother was a “quiet man.”

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“We know he didn’t have anything to do with what happened,” she said. “This was just a shock to us because he doesn’t even hang around people like that,”

Police Chief Tommy Moffett said there was a crowd at the club that morning for a 50th birthday party that started there Saturday night.

“We’re following up some pretty good leads, but I’m not willing to name any suspects yet,” Moffett said.

The Elks Lodge is a private, members-only club, and Moffett said that most nights it’s a quiet place most people don’t know is there. He said problems in the past have been reported on Sunday nights when the club is leased out as a “honky tonk.”

“It’s not just members only. Anybody can come, and it’s a rowdy place,” Moffett said.

Moffett said he has been attempting to contact the leaders of the Elks Lodge to discuss the problems with Sunday nights.

“I have every intention of addressing this,” he said.

The Elks Lodge has operated at the location as a social club for about 40 years, but it was prohibited from selling alcohol last year after a city license lapsed. According to zoning officials, that was when it was discovered that the club was operating in a zone that did not allow alcohol sells.

According to the zoning department records, approval was given on Sept. 7 to rezone that property from CBR-4, commercial business and residential, to C-4, general commercial. In a C-4 zone, businesses can serve food and alcohol.

Mayor Laurence Leyens, who had said the city would take swift action against any organization that contributed to the shooting, said Tuesday that police planned to step up patrols in that area.

“I’m literally going to post a police officer there and if anyone walks out with an open beer we’re going to arrest them,” Leyens said.

Sunday’s homicide was the second reported in Vicksburg this year. Kennado Caples, 26, 2708 Letitia St., was shot and killed by an intruder around 3:25 a.m. May 8 at the home he shared with his girlfriend. No arrest has been made.

Three killings were reported in Vicksburg in 2004.