The Vicksburg Post
December 12, 2013
Security company in shooting not licensed
John Surratt john.surratt@vicksburgpost.com
T&T Security, the company hired by the promoters of a party during which one man was killed and two
others were shot, was not licensed to do business in Vicksburg, city records show.
A copy of the business license for T&T Security obtained from the city under the Freedom of
Information Act shows it expired July 31, 2012. Paula Wright with the city inspection office said the
license had not been renewed.
T&T owner Michael J. Thomas, 46, of Lakehill Drive, is charged with second- degree murder in the death
of Michael "Tiger" Robinson, 27, of Ethel St., who died from a gunshot wound to the chest during a fight
at the party.
A flier distributed online and in neighborhoods promoted the event as a Four Brothers Diva's & Baller's
Night Out.
Police initially called the party at the American Legion hall on Monroe Street a birthday party, but a
Facebook page for Key Low Productions & U Town Enterprises also promoted the event as a Four
Brothers party -- for Jarrod Lee, Keith Lee, and two men known as D.T. and Main. Keith Lee is the CEO of
Key Low Productions & U Town Enterprises.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Keith Lee declined to comment.
Attempts to get the name of the person booking the party and reportedly responsible for getting
security were unsuccessful.
According to the Legion hall's regulations, the organization sponsoring the event must provide security
from a licensed and bonded company.
Police Chief Walter Armstrong said he was unaware T&T's business license had expired. He said further
charges might be possible, pending further investigation, adding Thomas could be fined for operating
without a business license.
"They (the party promoters) did what they were supposed to do under the rules and hired a security
company. They didn't check the background," he said.
Thomas is accused of firing the shot that killed Robinson, and he was being held in the in the Warren
County Jail in lieu of $125,000 bond.
He is one of three men charged in the shooting. Two other men, Morris Anthony Davis, 36, and David
Matthew Reed, 43, are each charged with two counts of aggravated assault and being held in the county
jail each in lieu of $300,000 bail. They are accused of shooting and wounding Wade Carter, 24, and
Charles Brooks, 34, during the fight at the hall.
Brooks remains in serious condition at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Carter was
taken to River Region Medical Center. Information on his condition was unavailable.
Thomas, who had a permit to carry a concealed firearm, was carrying a semi-automatic handgun at the
party. Police have recovered a handgun believed used in the shooting but would not say where it was
found or to whom it belonged.
Under state law, a business permit, a permit to carry a firearm and being bonded are all that's required
to operate a security company or be a security guard.
Steve Amitay, the executive director for the National Association of Security Companies, an association
for the private security industry, said Mississippi has no statutes or regulations pertaining to the
licensing, screening or training of security officers or licensing or bonding security companies.
He said Mississippi is one of about nine states that do not regulate security officers or security
businesses, adding, "Several years ago Alabama passed a law that set up a security officer/company
licensing and regulatory regime."
In the past, he said, the association has tried to introduce and pass legislation in Mississippi to regulate
officers and companies but has been unsuccessful.
"The lack of state regulation of security officers and security companies presents a danger to public
safety," he said.
City officials closed the Legion hall to other events pending the completion of the police investigation.
Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said city officials might move to close other businesses in the future if police
are called to break up fights.
"Any establishment that sells alcohol has to be responsible in the way they conduct their business," he
said. "If things get out of hand, we have to go in clear things up. We're going to shut them down until
the owners meet with me and the chief and explain their security measures to our satisfaction."
Flaggs said he is considering an ordinance requiring businesses such as bars and clubs to meet minimum
standards of security to protect their patrons.
"I've got (City Attorney) Nancy Thomas checking if we can do that," he said.
"Out on the street, we're responsible for people's safety inside a business, it's the owner's
responsibility."