Pleasantville Strip Club Shut Down Following Teen's Death: 'All Could Have Been Avoided'
PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. (CBS) -- Lawmakers in Atlantic County have shut down a strip club following the death of 19-year-old Irving Mayren Guzman. The teen was found dead three days after he was kicked out of the club.
On Wednesday, Pleasantville City Council voted to revoke Centerfolds Cabaret's mercantile license. Without the license, they can't operate.
Friends and family marched for justice Wednesday in honor of Mayren Guzman. They're upset he was allowed in the gentleman's club and served alcohol, and that no one called for help when he got into a fight outside.
Family of the victim cheered inside the Pleasantville Municipal Building after the council voted to revoke the license of Centerfolds and prompt them to permanently shut down.
The crowd even erupted outside.
This strip club has been closed ever since the death of Mayren Guzman. A sign on the door says "closed due to the tragedy."
Family and friends of 19-year-old Mayren Guzman gathered at Centerfolds Cabaret Wednesday afternoon to demand justice.
"I know for a fact the city of Pleasantville sees us coming and they're going to hear us loud and clear today," family friend Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez said.
On Jan. 22, Mayren Guzman went to the strip club on Delilah Road, but was later kicked out and attacked by a group of men in the parking lot. Police arrested three men for assault.
Loved ones searched for days until his body was found in a marshy area three days later.
"I didn't realize when he left home," his mother, Zara Guzman, said in Spanish. "If I had known, I wouldn't have let him leave at that hour."
Mayren Guzman's family and friends blame the strip club for his death.
"They were negligent in the fact that they served him alcohol and they were negligent in the fact that they didn't call the ambulance, they didn't call the police," Moreno-Rodriguez said.
Police say Mayren Guzman was underage in a 21-year-old club and served alcohol.
"Within the last three years, like the amount of criminal activities or reports that were like called in, it's staggering. And the fact that like, the city just still kept it open, like I don't know. It just blows my mind and it hurts. It hurts because this could have all been avoided," Eduardo Alvarez, the victim's brother said.
After the vote, Mayren Guzman's brother spoke to Eyewitness News.
"It's such a stressful and overwhelming feeling, like I'm really glad with the council's decision. This doesn't bring us back our brother but this puts us on the right path," he said.
The attorney representing Centerfolds addressed Mayren Guzman's mother during the Wednesday night meeting.
"I wanted to express from me to you sorrow and the grief that the owner has and the employees of Centerfolds. No one wanted this to happen," he said.
The family is extremely grateful to the community.
"We just want to make one thing clear, this all happened because of the community," Moreno-Rodriguez said.
The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine Mayren Guzman's cause of death.
CBS3's Madeleine Wright and Kerri Corrado contributed to this report.