Milwaukee committee votes to revoke license for gas station where Isaiah Allen was killed

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A gas station in Milwaukee's Garden Homes neighborhood will remain closed, one month after a man was shot and killed there.

29-year-old Isaiah Allen was shot by William Pinkin after being accused of stealing snack cakes.

Pinkin was working as a security guard and was armed, despite being convicted of a previous felony.

Pinkin is charged with first degree homicide and remains in custody.

Allen's family has asked city leaders to revoke the license of the gas station, located on Teutonia and Roosevelt, which operates under the name Teutonia Gas & Food.

After hours of testimony and high emotions the city's Licensing Committee voted unanimously to recommend the license be revoked.

Isaiah Allen's parents say the outcome of Thursday's meeting is a step in the right direction.

"The business owners, the store clerks, everybody, I want everybody to be held accountable," said his mother, Natalie Easter-Allen.

More than a dozen of Allen's family, friends, and neighbors attended the special hearing Thursday to testify in support of revoking the shop's license.

"I know it ain't going to bring my son back, but I don't think he should open up nothing. Not there," said Allen's father, Troy Allen.

The owner of Teutonia Gas & Food, Gurinder Nagra appeared virtually at the hearing, accompanied by his attorney.

Nagra said he did not do background checks on employees and didn't know Pinkin was armed while working.

He referred to Pinkin as an independent contractor, not an employee.

"He was not supposed to have a gun." said Nagra's attorney, Emil Ovbiagele.

During the hearing, representatives from Milwaukee Police Department confirmed the property has been a problem area. It was placed under nuisance monitoring in March.

Neighbors called it unsafe.

"This isn't the first shooting; this isn't the first homicide that's related to this gas station," said Allen's uncle, Shawn Moore.

Several of Allen's family members live in the same neighborhood as the place he was killed.

"I haven't gone to that gas station in many years because of the fact that many things have been happening up there," said Allen's grandmother, Charmain Easter.

After hearing testimony, committee members called the business a threat to health and safety.

"When they do business in our community, it's not just about the money, it's about the lives of the people that you serve," said Alderwoman Milele Coggs, the committee's chair.

Allen's family has been spending days and nights outside the gas station, ensuring it doesn't open.

His mother says they'll still be there.

"We going to continue. We going to continue till it's all over with," Easter-Allen said.

The committee's recommendation will go to the full Milwaukee Common Council for a final vote on Oct. 10.