PROVIDENCE — A man was shot to death in his car in the parking lot of a strip club early yesterday, becoming the city’s first homicide victim of 2008.

The police said Michael Holston, 32, of Providence, was shot shortly after 2 a.m. outside Club Desire, at 1 Franklin Square off Allens Avenue. Friends said he was sitting in his car, at about the time the club was closing, when he was shot.

By mid-morning yesterday, memorial candles had already cropped up amid shattered glass and discarded crime scene tape. Relatives of the victim who visited the site declined to speak with reporters. A security guard at the club said he recognized the victim as a “regular” but did not know his name.

A year ago, Club Desire made headlines for being a tenant in a state-owned building at 1 Franklin Square that was also home to Department of Transportation offices.

In July, the State Properties Committee authorized the DOT to sell the building. It was unclear yesterday if a sale had been finalized.

The police asked that anyone with information about the slaying call detectives at (401) 243-6406.

cneedham@projo.com