The owners of Edmonston's sole nightclub were fined $5,000 Wednesday after the Prince George’s County liquor board concluded that they were disrupting the peace and safety of the community and weren't licensed to host live entertainment such as musicians and DJs.

Town officials requested that the county Board of License Commissioners revoke the license of Surf Club Live after repeated reports of disorderly conduct and fights inside the club, culminating in the fatal shooting of a Washington, D.C., man outside the club March 3.

Wednesday's hearing dealt only with the shooting, which reportedly followed a fight that broke out inside the club, and officials including Mayor Robert Kerns and Police Chief Stephen Walker were only allowed to give testimony relating to that incident, despite having informed the board in March of a pattern of reported illegal activities dating back more than two years.

Activities include charging different prices for the same beer — with the higher prices purchasing not only the drink but also dances with young women — and not selling food as required by their license, former Mayor Adam Ortiz wrote in a March 7 letter to the board.

James D. Byrum, identified by the board as the president of Chesapeake Holdings, Inc., which operates the club, testified at Wednesday’s hearing that the club did, in fact, serve food and rarely had problems with fighting.

Byrum added that although the club had a security plan in place that required police to be called as soon as a fight broke out, the plan was not followed the night of the shooting.

"Violence occurred on the premises and the police were not called," said Franklin Jackson, board chairman. “If the police had been called at that time ... they might not have had to arrive [later] to find someone dying of a gunshot wound.”

An examination by the board of past license applications during the hearing revealed that the business had not actually requested permission for live entertainment.

"They can't do any entertainment without permission from the board, and I imagine it will be hard to get permission ... without some form of support from ... the community," Jackson said.

Both Byrum and his attorney, Robert Kim, declined to comment further after the hearing.

Kerns said he was disappointed that the penalty imposed on the club was not more severe, and that if the security plan had been followed "that gentleman would be alive today, I think."

Kerns said he would be willing to meet with the club's owners to discuss whether the town could support a bid to have live entertainment again, but that it was unlikely an agreement could be reached.

The original Surf Club was opened in Colmar Manor in 1955 by Chick Hall, and moved to Edmonston in 1975.

Ortiz told The Gazette in April that he did not recall any reports of illegal activity under the club’s previous owners.

The current owners, listed as VMS Enterprises in state property records, purchased the club in 2008. A statement on the club's website, which advertises live performances by a mix of country, blues and rock and roll musicians every weekend, announced the cancellation of upcoming shows due to a clerical error on the license application.