Mar 19, 2004  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

Gay D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) wants the city to suspend the liquor license for a black-owned lesbian bar following a fatal stabbing there on March 13, when its space was rented for a straight “go-go” party.

“This would not have happened if this was operating as a lesbian bar,” said Graham. “They turned themselves into something else.”

Graham and D.C. police officials said they would urge the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on March 17 to suspend the liquor license for Between Friends, a nightclub at 1115 U St., NW, following a series of violent incidents inside and outside the club over the past several months during its weekly Friday night “go-go” parties. The parties catered to a mostly heterosexual crowd, police said.

In an e-mail sent on Monday, Graham said he would work to ensure that the Between Friends liquor license is permanently revoked and the club shut down.

When it opened in January 2003, Between Friends billed itself as a bar catering to lesbians. It announced it would feature poetry readings and host fund-raising events for gay community groups and causes, such as the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer and Us Helping Us, which provides AIDS-related services to African-American gay men.

Ibijinka Hicks, the club’s owner, could not be reached by press time following an announcement that she would voluntarily close the club while taking steps to improve security. Andrew Kline, the club’s attorney, did not return a call.

Vicky Harris, who identified herself as a consultant and promoter for Between Friends, said it would be unfair for the city to suspend or revoke the club’s license for an incident caused by a few “troublemakers.”

Harris said Between Friends continued to operate as a lesbian club on Saturday and Tuesday nights as well as during happy hour periods in the afternoons on Monday through Friday. She said the club rented out its space for a variety of other events, including the Friday night go-go parties. Harris said those events were open to everyone, including lesbians.

“It’s a bad thing that happened,” Harris said of the stabbing. “But it’s not a bad club.”

History of problems
Third District Police Captain Dianne Groomes said the club operated almost trouble-free until last November, when it began its Friday night go-go parties. She said violent incidents, including fights inside and outside the club and reports of gunshots outside, became common occurrences during the Friday night parties, causing complaints from nearby residents and frequent emergency calls to police.

Police said an unknown assailant or assailants stabbed District resident George Barnes, 21, inside the club early Saturday morning, March 13, following a fight during the go-go party. He died shortly after being taken to a hospital by ambulance, police said.

Two other male customers were stabbed in the same incident, which Groomes said took place in the women’s bathroom. Police said they have no suspects and no known motive for the stabbings.

Lt. Lamar Green of the Violent Crimes Branch, which oversees homicide investigations, said police have yet to identify reliable witnesses, even though the stabbing occurring inside a packed nightclub.

According to Groomes, the club’s bouncers ejected Barnes and the other two stabbing victims from the club immediately after the altercation. She said employees began to clean the crime scene before police arrived, making it more difficult for homicide detectives to search for evidence.

Two weeks before the fatal stabbing of Barnes, someone stabbed a customer who was waiting in line to enter the club, Groomes said. Around that same time, Groomes said, a customer ejected from the club for fighting nearly ran down a police officer as the customer sped away in his car.

She said the ABC Board charged the club with serving liquor to minors in January, after managers ignored suggestions by police to bar 18- through 20-year-old customers from entering. Groomes said dozens of customers from the go-go parties “invaded” a nearby 7-Eleven store at the time the parties ended each week, stealing merchandize and “wrecking” the store. She said the store now closes on Friday nights shortly before the go-go parties end.

“It was out of control on the go-go nights,” Groomes said. “We advised them repeatedly on the steps they should take to improve their security. We suggested restricting entry to people 21 or older. We suggested searching patrons,” she said.

Graham, who represents the Ward 1 neighborhood where Between Friends is located, said he supported the club’s application for a liquor license two years ago. He said he called its proposed operation as a ...