Residents along Curtis Street pleaded with city officials Monday night to crack down on late-night gunfire, loitering and other trouble they say has turned their once‑quiet neighborhood into a war zone.
At the Feb. 23 meeting of the Indianola Board of Aldermen, several homeowners described diving to the floor to avoid stray bullets, finding vehicles riddled with gunfire and keeping children indoors for fear of getting caught in drive‑by shootings near Johnny Mack’s store and the shuttered Club Mongoose at Garrard Road and Curtis Street. Mayor Ken Featherstone opened the discussion under a citizen concern agenda item after what he called two “disturbing” recent shootings in the Curtis Street area that did not result in fatalities but alarmed nearby residents.
Homeowner Bessie Love, who lives in the neighborhood, said she no longer sleeps in the bedrooms on the side of her house that faces Curtis Street because she never knows when gunfire might occur. Also, another resident, Hilda Thomas, told city officials that her stepdaughter’s car was struck by about eight bullets soon after she got out of the vehicle. “I can replace a car. I can’t replace my daughter,” Thomas said.
Other residents echoed their concerns, saying loud music, speeding cars and late‑night crowds now dominate the corner of Curtis Street and Garrard Road. Another local resident, Betty Petty, told the board she has had to crawl onto the floor when gunshots erupted nearby and later discovered bullets lodged in her family’s vehicles. “The only thing that I’ve said was, I’m thankful to the good Lord that we weren’t in there,” she said.
Several neighbors pointed to heavy traffic and loitering outside a nearby store and in the parking lot around the Club Mongoose building. They described broken beer bottles, whiskey bottles and people hanging around at all hours.
Police Chief Ronald Sampson told aldermen and residents that his officers routinely respond to the area and have made “many arrests” there in recent years. He described the former club building as a “flop house” where people smoke, drink and sometimes flee from police, despite the fact that the business is not currently permitted to operate.
“These people need relief,” Sampson said, arguing that continuing nuisance activity tied to the property and its parking lot is worsening conditions for nearby homeowners.
Sampson urged the city to support more advanced tools such as gunshot‑detection systems, license plate readers and upgraded camera networks that can pinpoint the location of shots within feet and automatically track suspect vehicles. Such technology, used in larger cities, can quickly alert officers and strengthen probable cause for arrests, he said.
Mayor Featherstone and Alderman Rodreigus Young asked whether the department could increase patrols or assign an officer to the area at key times. Sampson said checkpoints and targeted patrols are possible but warned that offenders often change their patterns when they see police vehicles.
Officer Antwan Curtis told the board he recently chased a man dressed in black and wearing a ski mask from the a nearby store toward Curtis Street but said the man did not have a weapon when he caught him, and he was not arrested.
Several residents said the problems began escalating in the last five to six years, after decades of relative calm on Curtis Street. Teresa Nolden said bullet holes now mark multiple rooms in her home, including her master bedroom and bathroom.
“We shouldn’t have to feel like that in our own homes,” she said.
Club Mongoose owner Robert “Pumpkin” Rice, whose business license was previously revoked, addressed the board briefly. He said his building and truck have also been shot and that he has tried to quiet the area in recent weeks. Rice complained that he feels targeted and said he wants a chance to “straighten things up,” while acknowledging that gaming machines and crowds have used his building in the past.
Sampson said his office has invited Rice to discuss ways to address ongoing issues at the property, but the meetings have not yet occurred. Sampson noted that the building is currently closed and does not have the permits required to operate. He added that officers have observed activity at the property in violation of its closed status.
City Attorney Mack Arthur Turner told the board that while the city has a responsibility to protect the “health, safety and welfare” of residents, taking action to permanently close or restrict a business could carry legal risks. Turner noted that property owners can face civil liability if someone is injured on their premises, but they do not have an automatic legal duty to protect neighbors from activities off the property.
No board action was immediately required on the citizen complaint; however, Featherstone said there will be continued work with police to increase surveillance and seek funding for additional technology in the Curtis Street corridor. He also encouraged residents to continue reporting incidents.
