Bibb County sheriff revokes Rodeo Bar liquor license following deadly shooting

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis revoked a Macon bar’s liquor license in the wake of a deadly shooting on Saturday.

Davis revoked the liquor license for the Rodeo Bar and Grill Tuesday and ordered the business to stop operating after a shooting left one dead and six wounded at the Pio Nono Avenue bar. A confrontation inside the bar involving multiple people led to shots being fired outside, where security guard Jermaine Stewart was shot in the head just after 4 a.m. Saturday morning.

Stewart, 46, died the next day from his injuries. Six others were injured in the shooting.

The owners of the bar, Lanita Hunt and Hubert Lockett, were told by the sheriff’s office to cease operations. The sheriff’s office said an investigation showed the bar’s cameras did not capture video of the shooting properly and thus weren’t up to county standards.

According to a letter sent by Davis Tuesday, the cameras were reportedly “not capable of recording and storing retrievable data.” The letter also listed 13 other incidents in 2022 that occurred around the bar prior to Saturday’s shooting as justification for the revoked license.

The revoked license is temporary and up for review by Macon-Bibb County.

This isn’t the first time Davis has suspended a liquor license for a Macon bar. A shooting at the Thirsty Turtle in downtown Macon that left two men dead and others wounded in July of 2021 led to the Turtle’s liquor license being suspended. The bar’s owners eventually surrendered the license.