Jimmagan’s owner battles to stay open, judge’s decision still unknown

Jimmagan’s, a 20-year-old bar in Myrtle Beach that is under legal pressure to shut down, is expected to learn Friday whether it will have to close until a final trial determines whether it is a public nuisance.

As of Friday afternoon no decision had been made by Horry County about whether the pub will have to close.

A judge will issue the ruling after hearing five hours of testimony Thursday in an Horry County courtroom packed with roughly 60 bar supporters who want the court to keep their favorite neighborhood pub – likened to the one seen on the TV sitcom “Cheers” – open.

Law enforcement officers said they’ve seen the criminal activity there go from bad to worse, saying the bar at 6003 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach has become a “public nuisance.”

Attorneys for Jimmagan’s owner, Jimmy Sheedy, and the property’s landowner, Cynthia McDonald of McDonald Land Co., Inc., said their clients received a 10-day notice Oct. 20 to abate the “nuisance.” They’ve done that, the attorneys said, with the bar now closing at 1 a.m. instead of 4 a.m. and no calls for police since that time.

An online petition supporting the business had reached more than 400 names by Thursday morning and the pews behind Sheedy’s defense table were packed with supporters.

Tommy Brittain and Preston Brittain, attorneys for Sheedy, submitted more than seven affidavits from neighboring businesses and customers in support of Jimmagan’s, citing the pub was a good neighbor, not a nuisance.

But the state had affidavits too, from neighbors who cited cars parked at their businesses for days. And neighbors described the parking lot area of Jimmagan’s littered with beer bottles, used condoms, and small baggies they suspected were used in drug deals.

Lisa Robertson, an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, who works with the regulatory unit to compile data for public nuisance investigations, said that Jimmagan’s had a bad reputation among law enforcement.

The bad image came from suspected drug use, she said, and reluctance of employees to assist officers called to investigate incidents at the pub.

As she scoured the police calls, Robertson said she found “129 calls” for service to the pub from Jan. 1, 2014 to Oct. 14. Among them: one shooting call, five weapons violations, a bar brawl between 15 people and several assaults. The most severe incident occurred Aug. 15, when two men – both documented as members of rival gangs – opened fire at each other inside the bar.

Robertson testified that some reports noted the reluctance of bar staff to assist in investigations, but she added that the reports did not show who initiated the calls or if they came from Jimmagan’s.

Under cross examination, Robertson admitted 49 of the 129 reports were not for calls, but for “public assistance” – when officers would drop by on their own to “walk through” and check on the place. Although the public assistance reports didn’t cite any crimes or lead to any arrests, they were still counted in the number of calls for service in her investigation.

Five of the calls in her report were for alarm activations and five more were for “suspicious” people. Several other “calls” were simply follow-up investigations for other cases and for traffic offenses like DUIs or speeding cars, which just happened to be pulled over in front of the business – whether they came from Jimmagan’s or not.

Of all the calls, Robertson admitted Sheedy and his staff were never personally cited for any criminal activity and – despite its reputation for drugs – only one narcotics-related call was noted for Jimmagan’s in the year and nine months of reports she found.

“When you break all of the calls down there’s only about a dozen incidences that really mean anything?” quizzed Russell Long, who represented the property owner.

She said that she found about 80, including the one shooting and five weapons law violations.

“Any idea of how many weapons law violations there have been at Broadway at the Beach?” Long asked.

Robertson said she didn’t have the report in front of her.

Jack Stewart, who was tendered as a nuisance investigation expert with his prior experience on the Horry County police force, told the court that he believed gang members were in the process of taking control of Jimmagan’s with the “unusually high” number of assaults, weapons violations and disorderly conducts for a neighborhood pub.

Stewart worked several nuisance cases including those of now shuttered businesses like Celebrations, Teezers and Fantails. Several shuttered businesses were closed due to gang activity.

Stewart attributed some of the activity to Jimmagan’s late night operations that attracted crowds after other bars closed.

Preston Brittain told him that Jimmagan’s is now closing at 1 a.m. and asked if that would help abate the nuisance.

Stewart said it was a step in the right direction, but more would be needed, like extra security watching the premises, metal detectors and the practice of not serving someone who was intoxicated.

Long asked if any police had gone to Sheedy and said there was a problem, “‘we need to make some changes’… would we be here today?”

“I have no idea,” Stewart said.

The Brittains called six witnesses to the stand – some employees of Jimmagan’s and other customers and friends of Sheedy. All testified the bar was safe, clean and not the drug den or haven for criminal activity officers may think it is.

“It’s the local pub. It’s where everybody comes to visit each other,” said Erin Armbrester, a Jimmagan’s bartender for five years.

Jimmagan’s is a conservative bar where most of the customers are in their 40s, said Michael Smith, who has been a patron for about five years.

“It’s not an environment for partying or mischief,” he said.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Jimmagan’s owner battles to stay open, judge’s decision still unknown."