DC9's liquor license has been suspended in the wake of a man's death allegedly at the hands of the nightclub's employees, News4's Pat Collins reported.
The club will have to apply for a hearing before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to get its license reinstated. All events through Nov. 1 already had been moved or canceled.
Ali Ahmed Mohammed, 27, of Silver Spring, Md., was kicked and beaten about a block from the bar at about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 15, police said. He was denied entry into the DC9 nightclub after closing and allegedly threw a rock or a brick through the club's window. Witnesses and police said the man was then chased down by four employees and a co-owner who were inside the club at the time.
Mohammed was tackled and beaten, police said. He was barely conscious when police arrived and died at Howard University Hospital less than an hour later.
Other DC9 employees have said the suspects simply tried to restrain Mohammed.
The co-owner, 46-year-old William Spieler, and the four employees -- Daryll Carter Jr., 20; Reginald Philips, 22; Evan Preller, 28; and Arthur Zaloca, 25 -- each is charged with one count of aggravated assault. Each was initially charged with second-degree murder, but those charges were reduced when the medical examiner couldn't link the cause of death to the alleged beating, Collins reported.
The crowd for a candlelight vigil for Mohammed spilled off the sidewalk in front of DC9 at 6 p.m. Tuesday night, blocking much of Ninth Street.
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