Macon-Bibb County files public nuisance suit against Autumn Trace Apartments
.jpg "A Facebook post where Danny Glover posted a picture of the window of his mother’s apartment at Autumn Trace Apartments. He hosted a community meeting to speak with residents about the “deplorable conditons” at the property and how he wants to advocate for change.")
Macon-Bibb County claimed that Autumn Trace Apartments was a public nuisance in a lawsuit filed Monday, and is ordering its owners to implement security measures, according to the county’s news release.
The apartment complex on 1745 Rocky Creek Road has had “substantial gang and drug activity regularly conducted there, including frequent shootings and violent crimes the last two years that have increased in frequency and severity in recent months,” the county said in its news release .
The suit was filed against the Hallmark Company, which owns Autumn Trace.
Residents of Autumn Trace spoke out about the “deplorable conditions” in a Feb. 11 meeting hosted by Danny Glover, whose mother lives in the apartment complex. According to Glover, his mother’s apartment was shot and left with bullet holes in her window. Other residents complained about mold and other living conditions in the suit.
“Our community has said loud and clear that public safety is its top priority, and we have made it clear we will not tolerate businesses not taking appropriate measures to protect people,” Mayor Lester Miller said in the news release.
Residents are ‘functionally trapped in place’
The lawsuit provided examples of incidents in Autumn Trace since Jan. 22, 2024 — most incidents related to shootings, gun fights and suspicious people walking through the apartment complex armed. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office’s Gang Unit has responded and investigated some of these incidents.
Most recently, a shooting on Jan. 29 resulted in a pregnant woman getting shot in her arm and torso. That same day, another apartment received “over thirty rounds of gunfire, primarily through the rear bedroom,” the lawsuit said.
“The shell casings for both shootings were located between the two buildings,” the lawsuit said. “In all, 78 shell casings in seven different calibers were recovered, including casings for three different assault rifles.”
Autumn Trace provides low-income housing for residents in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Project-Based Voucher program. Although residents are looking to escape the conditions at the apartment complex, alternatives for low-income housing aren’t available, according to the lawsuit.
“As a result of their financial circumstances, and the inaccessibility of available alternative housing in Macon-Bibb County, the lives of Autumn Trace’s residents remain at the mercy of the Defendants to this action, and depend on their ability to take reasonable and adequate measures to abate the Nuisance Conditions thereon and render Autumn Trace reasonably safe,” according to the lawsuit.
What they want Autumn Trace to implement
Through the lawsuit, the county wants a judge to enforce “reasonable, common-sense measures” to improve living conditions at Autumn Trace.
These efforts include:
- Installing security cameras and providing the sheriff’s office access to them
- Sufficient lighting for the cameras
- Perimeter fencing and gated access for motor vehicles
- Installing speed bumps
- Strictly enforcing lease terms, including inspecting residences and quickly evicting any residents who allow unregistered persons to stay in their apartments
- Adopting a zero-tolerance policy and evicting tenants whose residents and guests engage in violent crime on the property
- Buying out leases for problem tenants not subject to eviction
- Inspecting all units at random to identify unregistered occupants, illegal activity and other violations
- Hiring off-duty law enforcement officers
- Imposing a curfew
- Maintaining a registry of tenant-owned vehicles and investigating unregistered vehicles
- Maintaining a do-not-rent list for problem residents and guests
- Promptly repairing units damaged by criminal activity
- Provide meaningful opportunities for residents to inform management of dangerous or criminal activities to be addressed
- Provide management with adequate funding and resources to operate Autumn Trace diligently and safely.
“While every public nuisance condition is slightly different, and the measures required to achieve abatement can vary, there are some common measures that are entirely within Defendants’ control, and that have proven repeatedly to be relatively easy to implement, and have been effective in some situations at reducing chronic crime in other parts of the community,” the lawsuit said.
