Deputies called to Platinum Plus Greenville 200-plus times
Greenville County deputies have responded to the address of a local strip club 282 times since the start of 2012, according to Sheriff's Office records.
The 43 types of incidents, ranging from disturbances to assaults and burglaries, are documented in a calls for service report obtained through the state's Freedom of Information Act. The Greenville News requested the records as the Sheriff's Office investigates allegations of prostitution at the business.
Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins filed a civil lawsuit, claiming that Platinum Plus is a public nuisance and has sought a permanent injunction to close the business. Undercover deputies, according to the lawsuit, have been investigating Platinum Plus since last April, although records show officers have had many reasons to return in recent years.
Deputies have responded to what was categorized as a "disturbance" — the most common type of call — 52 times, according to the Sheriff's Office summary. Officers responded 49 times to investigate a vehicle, according to the report.
The other most common incidents at the address, according to the report, were: 18 suspicious person investigations, 17 assault victims, 16 vehicle stops, 13 petit larcenies and 10 vehicle burglaries.
Only one call was related to prostitution, according to the summary.
Platinum Plus, 805 Frontage Road, also has been the location of two high-profile deaths since 2010. The location averaged about 84 calls for service a year from 2012-14, with a high of 100 in 2012, according to the Sheriff's Office.
A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at Platinum Plus declined comment.
A judge will decide if Platinum Plus can remain open while the lawsuit seeking to shut down the strip club goes to trial. A hearing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday before Judge Charles B. Simmons at the Greenville County Courthouse.
Undercover agents in the lawsuit describe seeing strippers lead men to the upstairs Champagne Room with promises they "would not leave sexually frustrated." Strippers were alleged to have performed sex acts on themselves and customers for money and to having been encouraged to do so with club incentives, including a contest for the stripper who could get the most Champagne Room dances.
Sworn statements to law enforcement by hostesses, strippers and others are included as exhibits in the lawsuit. The statements allege managers knew strippers were having sex in the Champagne Room but did nothing to stop the acts.
The Sheriff's Office has declined to discuss the undercover operation at Platinum Plus, citing the ongoing investigation. Sheriff Steve Loftis said releasing information could possibly harm the investigation.
Staff writer Anna Lee contributed.