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Columbus County to burn down "public nuisance" Ballz Nightclub

A shot of the Columbus County Courthouse, a brick building with white pillars, from the west side.
Nikolai Mather/WHQR
/
WHQR
District attorney Jon David is trying to root out illegal nightclubs in Columbus County. That includes the long-running Ballz Nightclub, which has been in operation for at least three decades.

Last month, district attorneys Jon David and Ben David announced new efforts they’re taking against illegal nightclubs in the Cape Fear region. WHQR News director Ben Schachtman and rural reporter Nikolai Mather discuss their unusual strategies.

Ben Schachtman: Alright Nikolai. So we've heard a little bit about the Edge, an illegal nightclub located in Wilmington. Ben David ordered that business to shut down in May. But we haven't heard as much about the other club they shut down in Columbus County. Tell us about that one. 

Nikolai Mather: Sure! So Ball's Club is a nightclub out in Evergreen that's been operating for at least thirty years now. It was known as a sort of "after hours" spot — somewhere you could drink, shoot pool and hang out on the weekends after other bars closed. It was run out of a residential property owned by James Bethea, a.k.a. Ball.

BS: Hence the name.

NM: Yes – some say [the bar is called] Ball apostrophe S, others say Ball with a Z. Regardless – it's been around for a long time. Back in 2012, Bethea was subject to his first consent order after someone was killed on the property. Jon David – who had just been elected D.A. the year before – ordered him to shut down the bar.

BS: So, based on the fact we’re talking about it 12 years later, I’m guessing that didn't happen.

NM: Nope! Bethea kept running it. According to these latest court filings, he did so with the full knowledge of Columbus County law enforcement. Several police officers said in sworn affidavits that they've been aware of the club's continued operations for decades — one officer said for his whole career.

BS: Why didn't they just arrest him?

NM: I'm not really sure. By disobeying the 2012 court order, he could have been held in contempt of court, which means a judge could have taken action. Maybe send him to prison for 6 months, or charge him a $1,000 fine. But those things didn't happen until just recently.

I think what might have pushed the D.A. to act has been the amount of gun violence at Ball's. In less than a year, there've been three shootings at the club. So last month, they made a motion to hold Bethea in contempt of court for disobeying the order.

BS: I see. So what happens now?

NM: Well, David made this motion to not only shut down the bar, but demolish the property entirely. The Columbus County Fire Department is going to burn it down sometime this summer. The court motinon says 60 days, but Fire Marsha Shannonn Blackman told me it might take a little longer due to permit processing.

BS: Wow. That's a pretty intense form of nuisance abatement.

NM: It is. Something David said — and I'm paraphrasing — was that he didn't want to take people's property from them. He just wanted to ensure people used their property lawfully. So this is something of a last resort.

BS: Sure. So, I have to ask: Bethea has been running this bar for decades, apparently. Even if they burn this one down, what's to stop him from opening another illegal bar elsewhere?

NM: Honestly?? That was my question too. So far, I haven't really been able to find an answer to what would happen if he disobeyed this latest consent order. I assume contempt of court charges again.

David has a court date set for July 15th to decide on this agreement he has with Bethea. We'll likely have more details then.

BS: Alright. Well, thanks for your reporting, Nikolai.

NM: Thank you!

Nikolai Mather is a Report for America corps member from Pittsboro, North Carolina. He covers rural communities in Pender County, Brunswick County and Columbus County. He graduated from UNC Charlotte with degrees in genocide studies and political science. Prior to his work with WHQR, he covered religion in Athens, Georgia and local politics in Charlotte, North Carolina. In his spare time, he likes working on cars and playing the harmonica. You can reach him at nmather@whqr.org.
Ben Schachtman is a journalist and editor with a focus on local government accountability. He began reporting for Port City Daily in the Wilmington area in 2016 and took over as managing editor there in 2018. He’s a graduate of Rutgers College and later received his MA from NYU and his PhD from SUNY-Stony Brook, both in English Literature.