Once again, County Attorney Theo Lawson was asked whether there is anything else Jefferson County can do to combat illegal bingo halls.

And once again, Lawson said county officials are doing all they can do.

During the commission’s committee meeting Tuesday, President Jimmie Stephens cited an incident that happened before dawn Monday at an illegal bingo hall in a strip mall on Chalkville Road. Sheriff’s spokesman Henry Irby said that shortly after 5 a.m., deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office responded to a report of a person shot at 5712 Chalkville Road.

Center Point Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and transported the victim, an employee, to UAB Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The security guard, who is being investigated in connection with the incident, remained on the scene and cooperated with sheriff’s deputies.

“We’re doing all we can do,” Stephens said, “and they’re still running them (illegal bingo halls).”

Lawson, the county attorney, said the county’s authority extends to its enforcement of zoning laws. In 2023, the commission amended its zoning ordinance to increase the penalty for violations.

As a result of recent state legislation, the commission was able to make violating the county’s zoning ordinance a Class B misdemeanor. Such violations are now punishable by as much as 180 days in jail and a fine of as much as $3,000.

Previously, the penalty was a $100 fine and no more than 10 days in jail.

Lawson said the county has dedicated resources to addressing the matter.

“We have a lawyer who’s dedicated to managing those prosecutions,” the county attorney said. “We have zoning enforcement people that we have equipped to deal with those things. They have pursued warrants.”

Lawson said some bingo halls are owned by corporations. There have been other corporations that serve as process agents, which can make it difficult to serve warrants to actual owners.

“Those businesses — and it’s not just bingo but wherever we find zoning issues — they are very diligent in making sure that they pursue those things,” Lawson said. He said the goal is to give people ample opportunity to “right the wrong” before they pursue warrants.

“In this particular instance, it’s owned by a corporation and the law allows you to even pursue warrants and indictments against businesses,” the county attorney said. “In this case, they were indicted by the grand jury back in June. It’s a matter of getting that (warrant) served and some responses.”

In a related matter of new business, commissioners moved to Thursday’s agenda approval for zoning code enforcement personnel to use sheriff’s department radios. This would allow those employees to seek backup as needed.

Lawson said the personnel need to be connected, especially in rural areas.

“The stuff that they’re dealing with is, again, zoning violations. But in this day and age, you never know when that could turn into something else,” he said. “It allows our zoning folks and also our person that’s designated to prosecute those cases in our office to have access.”