ANAHEIM : Nightclub Reopens After Getting Permit

The Prestigio Towers Bar and Grill, where six men were shot and wounded early Wednesday, was reopened Thursday after authorities closed it briefly for operating without a permit.

Anaheim Code Enforcement Manager John Poole said the owner of the club, Kent Hong, received a one-year, conditional permit in March, 1993, to operate a restaurant-bar, but that he instead “operated a nightclub (offering) minimal--if any--food.”

The conditional permit expired on March 1, he said. On March 26, Poole said, he and an inspector visited the club and found that “its entire menu consisted of tomato paste and fried chicken wings--there was no bread, nothing in that kitchen.”

Poole said he gave Hong a warning: turn his place into a bona fide restaurant or close.

Hong apparently did not heed the warning and continued operating his place as a club catering to teen-agers and people in their early 20s, offering free hors d’oeuvres but not much else food, authorities said.

Anaheim Police Lt. Vince Howard said the Prestigio has been having problems with a rowdy clientele. On March 17, he said, one customer started shooting at the ceiling and was arrested.

Then, on Wednesday, as the club was about to close at 2 a.m., a gunman outside the club sprayed it with 15 to 20 bullets, injuring six men.

Police are looking into the possibility that the gunman, still at large, may have been asked to leave earlier that night because he was bothering a waitress.

Jason Shurtliff, 21, was listed in critical condition Thursday after undergoing surgery. He was was hit in the abdomen by a bullet, hospital officials said. The other victims, most of whom are disc jockeys or promoters for the club’s entertainment, were recuperating from lesser injuries at hospitals throughout the area.

Authorities closed the bar briefly on Wednesday, but that same day Hong reapplied for a restaurant-bar permit and was allowed to open. But if he doesn’t start operating a restaurant today, Poole said, he “will be subject to criminal prosecution.”

Poole said violations of city and state codes are misdemeanor offenses that can bring up to $1,000 in fines and/or up to six months in jail.

The city’s Planning Commission will decide whether to grant Hong a permanent permit in about 45 days, Poole said.

In the meantime, he said, “in any given day there is a good possibility we will inspect the place.”