Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan has filed a lawsuit to clean up an after-hours club in northwest Harris County, which was the scene of a murder earlier this month.
Investigators have identified a suspect in the fatal shooting at Club La Cave that left one man dead and several others injured. Henry Dorsey is accused of fatally shooting Timothy Powell, 21, on Dec. 9. Three other males were wounded and another assaulted during the incident.
Ryan contends that the Club La Cave, 4714 FM 1960 West, is a public nuisance where criminal activity regularly occurs, including unlawful and illegal use and discharge of firearms; delivery, possession and use of a controlled substance; aggravated assault; sexual assault; aggravated robbery; and even murder.
One man was killed and three others shot outside the club in the early hours of a recent Sunday morning. Two people were killed at the club in 2011.
“The defendants have knowingly allowed hundreds of violations to occur at this club and done nothing to stop them,” said Ryan. “They can either operate in a legal manner or we will see that they are closed down.”
La Cave is an after-hours club operating from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. Nearly 400 calls for service have been made at the club, located in a strip center in the Champions Terrace area.
Local residents say robberies, break-ins and shootings have increased in their community since the club opened.
The Harris County Attorney’s Office is seeking a temporary injunction against club owner Victoria Gonzales and against Hardial and Surinder Mangat, who own the property where the club is located. The County Attorney’s Office is asking a judge to order reasonable actions to prevent the nuisances caused by the club and to order the defendants to put up a bond. If the defendants violate the judge’s order, the bond could be forfeited and the club ordered closed for one year from the forfeiture date.
