Macon-Bibb County has filed an emergency motion in Superior Court to have M&M Grocery (2760 Montpelier Avenue) permanently closed. This is being done because of the reemergence of conditions which threaten public safety and for the store violating the conditions of a Court Order placed against it in October 2022.

The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, June 22, at 9:30 a.m., and Judge Mincey has modified the original order to require the store to close at 8:00 p.m., instead of 11:00 p.m.  Additionally, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office will be notifying M&M Grocery that all its alcohol licenses are immediately and temporarily revoked for up to 90 days.

Emergency Motion for Abatement
Emergency Order – 6/13/2023

“This neighborhood…this community…is plagued by the activities occurring around this store, and it’s on us to do what we can to protect people,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “The owners got a second chance to operate in a safe manner and to be better members of the community, but they have chosen to be an ongoing threat to public safety.”

M&M Grocery was closed previously because of the amount of violent and criminal activity that occurred in and around the store. Since 2016, more than 894 emergency 911 calls were placed from this location, leading to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) having to regularly patrol the area. There are 75 cases going back to 2019 specifically cited in the original suit, including homicides, car theft, stabbings, shootings, and the ongoing sale of drugs, including heroin, crack cocaine, ecstasy, Xanax, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana.

On October 28, 2022, the Court allowed the store to reopen under the following conditions:

• Defendants were declared to be responsible for the premises and curtilage of the store, and to take proactive steps to prevent loitering, gatherings, or the presence of non-employees for more than ten minutes.
• Defendants could not transfer any interest in the premises or the business thereon to any third party without the same entering this action and stepping into the shoes of the party previously holding the interest conveyed.
• The store could only operate between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
• Defendants had to post prominent “No Loitering” signs inside of the store and in the parking lot.
• Defendants had to post prominent signs, substantially stating “This Area Is Under Constant Video Surveillance” inside of the store and in the parking lot.
• Defendants had to call for law enforcement assistance any time a person not conducting business with the store remained on the premises for longer than ten minutes.

“When the owners of the store complied with the order, we saw a significant decrease in crime in the area and the nearby neighborhoods,” says Mayor Miller. “However, since March, we have seen crime in the area continue to rise, and that’s in direct correlation with them not complying with the Order.”

Descriptions of recent incidents and crime data can be found by clicking here. Additionally, video footage shows the store operating and criminal activity happening well past the time they were supposed to be closed.

Georgia law provides that “any nuisance which tends to the immediate annoyance of the public in general, is manifestly injurious to the public health or safety, or tends greatly to corrupt the manners and morals of the public may be abated by the order of a judge of the superior court of the county in which venue is proper.” O.C.G.A § 41-2-2. The county is asking for the following relief:

• That this Court find Defendants to be in willful, criminal contempt of court and order that they be punished to the maximum extent allowed under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-8 for their willful and reckless endangerment of the lives of citizens of Macon-Bibb County by willfully failing to abide by this Court’s Order;
• That this Court order the permanent closure of this store and all other abatement and injunction of the nuisance conditions complained of by Plaintiff in this matter in a way that is deemed suitable to the Court; and
• That Plaintiff have such other and further relief as this Court deems just and equitable.

“Improving public safety is the top priority for our community, and we are taking every action we can to make that happen, from providing free mental health services, funding dozens of community organizations to support families, buying the best technology for our Sheriff’s Office, providing annual public safety incentive pay, using the courts to hold business owners accountable for creating an unsafe environment, tearing down blighted structures, and more,” adds Mayor Miller. “The safety of our families and community is too important to not take action where we can.”