ELYRIA — Less than three weeks after a 27-year-old Lorain woman was gunned down in a botched robbery at Gas USA, the owners of the south side gas station filed an application for a new liquor permit.

El Ham Harb, managing partner of Liberty Gas USA, applied July 2 for a Class C1, C2 and D6 permit, said

Dennis Ginty, spokesman for the Division of Liquor Control. The permit would allow the Middle Avenue business to sell beer and wine for carry out every day, including Sunday, from 1 p.m. to midnight.

Gas USA, which has gone through a number of owners in recent years, has tried several times to obtain a liquor permit, and each time the Division of Liquor Control has denied the requests after hearing complaints from residents that it is a haven for criminals.

Gas USA has been without a liquor permit since November 2006, when state officials denied a renewal for a previous owner because the store “saw more police activity than any other permit business in Elyria.”

No decision has been made on this most recent application, Ginty said. It is under review and no public hearing on the matter has been scheduled, he said.

The issue will not be discussed at Monday’s Community Development committee meeting, said City Councilman Tom Callahan, D-at large. It will likely wait until the August meeting, at which time committee members will discuss and decide what their stance is on
the request.

Gas USA is where Qiana Walton, a sales clerk, was fatally shot during a robbery June 14 as she closed the store. Vincent W. Jackson Jr., 27, of Chicago, has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery in connection with her death.

Her death, along with a fuel leak that caused an evacuation in late May, set off renewed criticism with local activists calling for it to be shuttered and deemed a nuisance.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com. 

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