Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan has won a temporary injunction requiring a notorious after-hours club in Houston to take a number of actions to reduce crime at that facility. Judge Tad Halbach, 333rd Civil District Court, signed an order on Tuesday, February 24th, requiring Club Eclipse to take steps to prevent crime on the premises and parking lot.
Club Eclipse, also known as Club Night, 2628 FM 1960 Rd. E., had become a haven for violent crime, including parking lot brawls, aggravated robberies, stabbings and shootings.
Ryan filed suit in January against Victoria Gonzalez Zarate, the owner of Club Eclipse, as well as Sunlight Group, the owner of the strip shopping center where the club is located.
Judge Halbach ordered Zarate to:
•Prohibit the selling, serving or consumption of alcohol on the club premises;
•Close the club between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 10:30 a.m.;
•Check all ID’s and bags at a station outside the entrance to the club;
•Refuse entrance to the club to anyone found in violation of the law;
•Install cameras inside and outside the club, store that video for 30 days and make it available to law enforcement within 24 hours of request;
•Hire two licensed uniformed law enforcement officers to be on premises while the club is open;
•Perform background checks on employees and contractors and refuse to hire or terminate anyone with a felony criminal or drug offense in the last ten years;
•Report any illegal activity to law enforcement, maintain a log of law enforcement activity and report that to the County Attorney’s Office on a weekly basis;
Sunlight Group was ordered to install lighting and surveillance cameras in the parking lot that serves Club Eclipse and hire two law enforcement officers to patrol that lot. Both defendants must pay all costs of these changes ordered by the Judge and post bonds.
Club Eclipse’s reputation went viral when in early December 2014 a large fight broke out inside the club and spilled into the parking lot just as the sun was coming up. The fight was captured on cell phone video and posted to a Facebook page called “Strippers and Fights.” During the fight, at least one person was stabbed in the head and arm and shots were fired.