City Closes Teutonia Avenue Gas Station

Site of Teutonia Gas and Food, 4295 N. Teutonia Ave. Photo taken Oct. 11, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to revoke the license of Teutonia Gas and Food. The business’s city-mandated closure marked the conclusion of a hard-fought battle by friends and family members of Isaiah Allen, who was shot and killed by a security guard at the gas station, 4295 N. Teutonia Ave., in August.

According to a police report, Allen entered the business around 6 a.m. on Aug. 16. He grabbed a box of snack cakes and then left without paying. A person who appeared to be a security guard, later identified as William Pinkin, rushed after Allen, produced a handgun and shot him in the back of the head from just over an arm’s length away, killing him.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Allen lying on the pavement just outside the store. Pinkin, who had returned inside, told officers he worked at the store but did not see the shooting. Pinkin was later charged with first-degree intentional homicide. He pled not guilty during a preliminary hearing on Sept. 12 and remains in custody.

“I think it just goes to show that our lives are not valued at all in the community that we spend our money,” said Natalie Easter Allen, who testified against the business at a Sept. 21 Licenses Committee hearing. Easter Allen, Isaiah Allen’s mother, was joined at the hearing by nearly two dozen fellow community members — many of whom shared their own testimony.

In the weeks after the shooting, a group of Allen’s family members posted signs and set up a camp outside of the gas station to raise awareness about the incident. They also distributed a petition in an effort to encourage city leaders to revoke the business’s license, which was last renewed in April. To date, the group has collected more than 3,000 signatures.

Even before testimony began, tensions were high at the Sept. 21 hearing.

“You’ve got a room full of people who deserve to hear answers,” said Alderman Mark Borkowski, addressing licensee Gurinder Nagra and attorney Emil Ovbiagele.

The alderman also took issue with the fact that Nagra and Ovbiagele attended the hearing virtually, calling the decision “insulting.”

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs raised questions about Nagra’s hiring and training practices for employees. Specifically, Nagra’s policy for carrying a gun on-premises.

Nagra told the committee that employees are verbally instructed not to carry firearms, though the policy is not in writing. Pinkin was hired as an independent contractor in mid-July, according to Nagra, who noted that he was not aware that Pinkin was armed. He also said that he does not complete background checks on employees.

Pinkin previously spent more than two decades in custody after he was convicted of a 1989 first degree reckless homicide while armed.

After extensive testimony lasting more than two hours, area Alderwoman Andrea Pratt moved for revocation of the license. Nagra filed written objections, but did not appear at Tuesday’s meeting of the full Common Council.

As of Wednesday morning, protest signs remain posted at the site of the gas station.

Nagra can apply to reopen Teutonia Gas and Food in one year. A court could also grant an injunction to allow the business to continue to operate during a lawsuit.

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