After more than two years of answering calls concerning violence and disorder at 3000 Bar Nashville, 1516-A Demonbreun Street, Midtown Hills Precinct detectives and officers, in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office, this afternoon are raiding and padlocking the business.
3000 Bar Nashville has been declared a public nuisance in a temporary injunction and padlocking order issued by Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier. Judge Dozier’s order prohibits the operators of the business, Sasha Qualkenbush and Brian Hedrick, and anyone associated with them from entering the premises until a hearing is held on April 12th at 9 a.m.
An investigation spanning nearly two years by detectives assigned to the Midtown Hills Precinct’s Community Field Intelligence Team shows that 3000 Bar Nashville poses a hazard to patrons and the overall safety of the immediate vicinity. MNPD officers responded to more than 100 calls to 3000 Bar Nashville and the area of 15th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street between April 2021 and March 2023. Those calls include assaults, multiple fights, shootings, vehicle burglaries, and more. Two persons were shot, one of them fatally, outside in the 1500 block of Demonbreun Street at 2:15 a.m. on April 17, 2021.
Operations conducted by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), which began after a December 31, 2022 shooting at 3000 Bar Nashville, led to the March 13th suspension of the establishment’s liquor license due to the failure to provide adequate security, failure to maintain law and order, and failure to timely seek license renewal.
The MNPD’s December investigation, by detectives from the non-lethal shooting team and the Midtown Hills Precinct, shows that the bar was using unlicensed persons as security personnel and permitted them to carry weapons, at least one of whom is believed to be a convicted felon. A review of the bar’s security system showed patrons drinking alcohol while openly possessing and/or displaying weapons, with “security” personnel also openly handling guns.
Numerous business owners and property managers in the area of 3000 Bar Nashville have expressed concerns about the establishment to law enforcement.
During meetings held with owners and management staff of Demonbreun Street establishments at the Midtown Hills Precinct in April and August 2021 and March 2022, MNPD staff offered guidance on how to mitigate violence and other criminal activity that was occurring. Representatives of 3000 Bar Nashville were made aware of the meetings and attended. Meanwhile, as late as this year, other businesses and property managers in the area continue to express their frustration about the unlawful activities that continue to generate police responses.
A nuisance action is a civil lawsuit, although Tennessee law provides for it to be filed in Criminal Court.
The MNPD & District Attorney’s Office consider a padlocking order to be a last resort when businesses blatantly promote behavior that jeopardizes Nashville’s citizens.
Affidavit in Support of Padlocking
