Article Last Updated:11/13/2006 06:02:45 PM PST
OAKLAND - Following a weekend shooting that left a pregnant woman dead, the owner of Mingles Nightclub near Jack London Square has decided to close his venue indefinitely, city officials said Monday. City administrative hearing officer Barbara Killey said John Ivey, owner of the problems-plagued Mingles, told her he would shutter the club voluntarily.
"It's a sad day," Killey said, adding the city was prepared to schedule a hearing to suspend the club's license had Ivey not agreed to close down. Mingles will not be allowed to reopen without the city's approval, Killey said.
Ivey, who knew the victim, Shirley Deanna Smith, could not be reached for comment.Smith was remembered Monday as a sweet, honest, no-nonsense person and a good mother who loved people and her job as a hostess at a Hegenberger Road restaurant. Police said she was 16 weeks pregnant.
"She really enjoyed that, interacting with people. She had so much life, so much vitality," her 30-year-old boyfriend said Monday.
Her boyfriend, who did not want his name published, said what he will also never forget is watching the mother of his 8-month-old son and unborn daughter die Saturday morning, caught in a crossfire of bullets after leaving Mingles.
Smith, who also had two other daughters, ages 11 and 6, was shot about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.Police are still seeking the gunman, who was part of one of two groups that began shooting at each other on the 100 and 200 blocks of Webster Street after an altercation inside the club, investigators said.
"We were walking outside and then it was like bedlam and we were trying to get cover," said the boyfriend, a Vallejo resident who has known Smith 11 years.
"Everything started happening at once. I didn't know right away she was hit. It didn't dawn on me when I first saw her on the ground. But then I saw the blood and I knew."
Smith's boyfriend said he did not know she was pregnant, and said he isn't sure whether she knew either.He and Smith had been to Mingles many times and had never encountered any problems."I've even performed there at open mic," the boyfriend said, noting that he is a rapper, singer and producer.
"The majority of people there knew us, knew her."
Smith's boyfriend said he would especially remember "the conversations we had and her smile, even her frown when she was upset. I'll miss her."
He said what happened to her is senseless. "When I grew up, if you had a problem you put up your dukes. Now, it's a coward who (gets a gun) and shoots into a group of innocent people."
Even though he is angry, the boyfriend said he believes he knows what she would want her killer or killers to do."She would want them to ask God for forgiveness," he said.
Mingles is the second popular black nightclub to close in recent months after repeated violent incidents prompted police and city officials to call for a crackdown on the venues.
OAKLAND - Following a weekend shooting that left a pregnant woman dead, the owner of Mingles Nightclub near Jack London Square has decided to close his venue indefinitely, city officials said Monday. City administrative hearing officer Barbara Killey said John Ivey, owner of the problems-plagued Mingles, told her he would shutter the club voluntarily.
"It's a sad day," Killey said, adding the city was prepared to schedule a hearing to suspend the club's license had Ivey not agreed to close down. Mingles will not be allowed to reopen without the city's approval, Killey said.
Ivey, who knew the victim, Shirley Deanna Smith, could not be reached for comment.Smith was remembered Monday as a sweet, honest, no-nonsense person and a good mother who loved people and her job as a hostess at a Hegenberger Road restaurant. Police said she was 16 weeks pregnant.
"She really enjoyed that, interacting with people. She had so much life, so much vitality," her 30-year-old boyfriend said Monday.
Her boyfriend, who did not want his name published, said what he will also never forget is watching the mother of his 8-month-old son and unborn daughter die Saturday morning, caught in a crossfire of bullets after leaving Mingles.
Smith, who also had two other daughters, ages 11 and 6, was shot about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.Police are still seeking the gunman, who was part of one of two groups that began shooting at each other on the 100 and 200 blocks of Webster Street after an altercation inside the club, investigators said.
"We were walking outside and then it was like bedlam and we were trying to get cover," said the boyfriend, a Vallejo resident who has known Smith 11 years.
"Everything started happening at once. I didn't know right away she was hit. It didn't dawn on me when I first saw her on the ground. But then I saw the blood and I knew."
Smith's boyfriend said he did not know she was pregnant, and said he isn't sure whether she knew either.He and Smith had been to Mingles many times and had never encountered any problems."I've even performed there at open mic," the boyfriend said, noting that he is a rapper, singer and producer.
"The majority of people there knew us, knew her."
Smith's boyfriend said he would especially remember "the conversations we had and her smile, even her frown when she was upset. I'll miss her."
He said what happened to her is senseless. "When I grew up, if you had a problem you put up your dukes. Now, it's a coward who (gets a gun) and shoots into a group of innocent people."
Even though he is angry, the boyfriend said he believes he knows what she would want her killer or killers to do."She would want them to ask God for forgiveness," he said.
Mingles is the second popular black nightclub to close in recent months after repeated violent incidents prompted police and city officials to call for a crackdown on the venues.
