In view of rising violent crime, the city takes tough action against companies | Multimedia

INDIANOLA – A local business owner is dismissing the notion that he is responsible for the city's recent violent crime. Delta News reporter Jasmine Steverson shows us what he and others believe is the real problem.

Across the Delta, business owners and city officials alike are fed up with the violent crime ravaging their communities. In the city of Indianola, some seem to believe that businesses may be playing a larger role in generating violent crime.

“It's a very sensitive issue because you don't want to stop anyone from making a living. Some business owners are more concerned with making money than with safety,” said Indianola Police Chief Ron Sampson.

He points out that the problem of large gatherings of people in public places is not unique to Indianola, but he reportedly called on the city to revoke the business licenses of two businesses, including the Mongoose Pool Hall.

“They're really trying to make a good impression because these three murders weren't committed in Indianola, they were committed by the guys from Greenville. Now they've shut down our city,” Robert Rice, owner of the Mongoose Pool Hall, told Delta News.

Rice believes the business license must be visible, even though he has been accused of operating without one.

“When they came in, they asked to see my driver's license, but they didn't, so they assumed I didn't have it. I said you could have just gone and looked,” he recalls.

The fatal shooting in July, which left three young men dead, occurred near the intersection of the second bar affected, Club Lit.

Sampson notes, “In every city, big or small, there are problems at these kinds of gatherings where a lot of people drink or consume too much, and people do things they wouldn't normally do.”

Rice added: “I have nothing against the chief, the mayor or whoever, but don't blame us. Most people come here. Whether it's good or bad, they come here and have fun. If they leave here and do something else, that's their business. But they come here peacefully.”