‘The Real Murders of Atlanta’: Who Killed a Strip Club Bouncer? [Exclusive Clip]
When a man is gunned down across the street from a famous Atlanta strip club, police turn to his friends and colleagues in an attempt to discover why he ended up dead, as seen in the May 24 episode of Oxygen True Crime’s The Real Murders of Atlanta.
Police investigate a murder near Atlanta’s iconic Blue Flame strip club
In 2016, police were called to a Burger King in Atlanta after reports of gunfire. On the scene, they found two men, Reginald “Reggie” Coicou and Quincy Wytche, who had each been shot.
What led to the brutal killings? To get to the bottom of the crime, police questioned those who knew Reggie, who worked as a bouncer at the nearby Blue Flame strip club.
“Fewer than 24 hours into the investigation, word of Reggie’s death spreads quickly,” says former WVEE news anchor Laura Looney in an exclusive clip from the upcoming episode of The Real Murders of Atlanta. “Detectives began reaching out to Reggie’s friends and co-workers at the Blue Flame, hoping to get some information about his life.”
Reggie’s friend Aaron King Culver recalls the moment when he learned about the shooting.
“News traveled fast,” he says. “To this day, it replays in my head. A dancer who worked at the Blue Flame called me and was like, ‘King, King, call Coicou because they’re telling me that’s him across the street at the Burger King.’ So I called him. No answer. I called him again. No answer. So, at that point in time, I kinda knew.”
Reggie took his job at the Blue Flame ‘seriously,’ his friend says
For Reggie, his job at the Blue Flame was more than just a way to make a buck.
“He really took working for the Blue Flame seriously,” King goes on to say. “Because he felt like it was a family.”
It wasn’t unusual for Reggie to spend six days a week at the club, where he typically worked outside. He also had a permit to carry a gun.
“[He] had a history of always having it with him, given the fact that he worked at the club,” Looney says.
Reggie’s gig at the Blue Flame came with plenty of perks. Patrons were generous tippers, and security guards and parking lot attendants could make serious cash.
“These bouncers and parking lot attendants are getting tipped well,” Brett Zimbrick, a retired detective with the Atlanta Police Department, says. “It’s a very lucrative position to have. Reggie had the reputation of carrying a large amount of cash.”
That leads police to an obvious theory: Reggie was murdered in a robbery gone wrong.
“So now, we’re leaning towards robbery, because there is no significant amount of cash located on Reggie’s body during the on-scene exam,” Zimbrick says.
Robbery might have been the motive for Reggie’s murder, but what about Quincy, the other victim? As investigators dig deeper, they discover the killings were part of an elaborate setup carried out by a surprising triggerman and an even more shocking accomplice.
The Real Murders Of Atlanta airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT On Oxygen True Crime.
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