Application for new Belleville business withdrawn after weapons charge revealed
A request for a permit to open a convenience store in west Belleville was withdrawn when it was revealed that the applicant was involved in a raid on a smoke shop that led to weapons and cannabis charges.
Gerriel Greenwood sought a special use permit to establish the business at The Arcades, 6500 W. Main St., Suite 216.
Attorney Ken Leeds spoke on Greenwood’s behalf at the city’s June 26 zoning board of appeals meeting and presented what the business, Bee Hive Market, would look like and provide to the community.
The business would sell fresh produce, perishable goods, over-the-counter medications, ready-to-eat meals and snacks, cleaning and hygiene products, weather-related items and other goods, he said. Minimal tobacco products would be available; alcohol and lottery tickets would not.
Leeds said the business would have the potential to fill critical needs for area residents who don’t drive and live paycheck to paycheck. The proposed operating hours were 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
But Sgt. Samuel Parsons of the Belleville Police Department told members of the zoning the board that Greenwood had been cited for operating a business without a permit and was charged with a criminal misdemeanor for unlawful possession of a weapon. The citation and charge were confirmed by court records.
The charges resulted from the Jan. 29 raids of a Belleville business, Twinzo Smoke Shop, and its owner’s residence.
During the raid of the business, it was discovered that Greenwood operated her waxing business, WaxthatG, at 6400 W. Main St., Suite 1B, which shared a connecting interior door with Twinzo Smoke Shop in Suite 1C.
Greenwood would work in the smoke shop when not in the waxing salon, Parsons said, and was present at the time of the raid.
When asked by a St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit officer if she had any firearms on her, according to Parsons, Greenwood handed over her purse, which contained a pistol, said Parsons. She did not have a permit to carry the weapon.
Court records show that Greenwood was charged with knowingly carrying a concealed Glock 43 9mm while “not on her own land, or in her own abode, or fixed place of business.”
Twinzo Smoke Shop owner Tiyon T. Moore also is facing felony charges of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver cannabis, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon.
Lloyd Cueto, assistant city attorney for Belleville, said he coordinated with the Belleville Police Department and the Economic Development, Planning and Zoning department prior to Thursday’s meeting. He said that both groups had “very real concerns” that Moore, who has a personal relationship with Greenwood, was the intended owner of the proposed business.
Each department’s main concerns were “who actually is running the business, who actually signed the lease with the owner of the Arcades complex, what the actual plans for the business are,” said Cueto, which were exacerbated by the site’s proximity to area schools.
After Parsons and Cueto spoke to the board, the applicant was given a final opportunity to speak. That’s when Leeds withdrew the application on behalf of Greenwood.
“Based upon the comments of [Parsons and Cuteo], we’re gonna go ahead and withdraw the application in order that we have time to go ahead and address some of these concerns,” said Leeds. “Then we’ll revisit this perhaps at some future time.”
Leeds later declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting.
Amy Ohlendorf, secretary for the Economic Development Planning & Zoning department, was present at the meeting. In response to a written request from the BND for more information regarding the meeting, she wrote that the department would not comment beyond what was on the public record.
Greenwood is currently scheduled to appear in court for the weapon charge on July 7 and again for the ordinance violation on July 10, according to the St. Clair County courts website. Moore is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 19.
