LAUDERHILL – Police and code enforcement officers shut down a convenience store allegedly involved in illegal gambling and other crimes in Lauderhill, according to a city spokesperson.
“What we were presented with was a business that really wasn’t operating as a convenience store,” City of Lauderhill Vice Mayor Lawrence “Jabbow” Martin said. “There was no product within the store. There seemed to be no things you would see in a traditional convenience store.”
City commissioners ordered the move against the 12th Street Food Store during a meeting Monday morning. They revoked the store owner’s certificate and permission to do business citing volumes of complaints. The alleged crimes involve employees illegally taking customers’ bets through a machine, authorities said.
“I come in this area (and) I always see a bunch of people at this store,” Larry Smith, who lives nearby, said.
Officers served documents explaining the action to the store’s owner. He left without speaking to CBS News Miami.