Last Updated on 5/17/2013

Published on 1/17/2013

Pawleys Island, S.C. — Tony Ford, the owner of Club Isis in Pawleys Island, has taken steps to try to make the establishment safer in the wake of recent shootings, which resulted in one death and other injuries.
After the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced it was beginning the process of possibly shutting the club down under public nuisance laws, Ford hired a new head of security who began New Year’s Eve.
On Dec.  29, a 25-year-old Browns Ferry Road man was shot in the hand and a 24-year-old Georgetown man was shot in the hand and thigh while at the club.
The alleged gunman, Terrance Rayon Thompson, 28, was arrested Jan. 11 by the Horry County Police and is expected to be charged with two  counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
On Aug. 18, 2012, Sean Edwards, 21, of New Haven, Conn., was gunned down in the club’s parking lot of the Ocean Highway club.
After the most recent shooting, Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said he was in talks with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office about possibly petitioning the court to have the club shuttered.
Richardson said the series of crimes at the club is enough to get the process started.
He said his office has been watching the club for a longtime and began talking with Sheriff Lane Cribb about a possible closure.
He said Cribb says the procedure “is something he is interested in and we promised to help.”
However, Ford is hoping the hiring of Santiago White to lead a security team at Club Isis will convince Richardson and the sheriff the club should be allowed to remain open.
White worked at the club previously for four years. He said during that time he put steps into place that kept crime at a minimum. However, he left Club Isis when he was fired as a Georgetown County firefighter.
He told the Georgetown Times when he returned to the club Dec. 31, he immediately put new procedures into place that, on his first night back, led to a man being stopped from entering the club with a gun.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a 21-year-old McClellanville man had a gun in his boot and two magazines in his pants pocket when he tried to enter Club Isis.
White said it was the new search procedure that is now in place that led to the discovery.
“Everyone that comes in the club will be searched for weapons,” White said.
He also said security has now been hired to patrol the parking lot to try to keep anything from happening outside the club.
After the December shooting, many people posted comments on The Georgetown Times’ Facebook page indicating they feel the club needs to be shut down. But not everyone shares that sentiment.
Anastasia Collins, who has been going to the club for the past four years, said the owners of the club should not be punished for the crimes of others.
She said Ford “doesn't have any involvement what goes on outside of the club.” She said “it hurts my heart to hear the negativity people are saying about the club. I personally feel that they should not falsely accuse (Ford) for the wrong that people do.”

By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com