2207 6th North sure sounds a lot like 2100 10th South and 1004 East 22 nd
Street to me. Both Houses had landlord who absolutely rented to only drug
dealers and gang members. It took years to get rid of them.
2100 is a good example. A woman named Shirley Brown owned the house and in my
opinion for years she simply rotated drug dealers between there and rental
houses on the Northside. As soon as the heat became to great the house
switching went into gear. Different families The story on the street was that
she received up to $2400 dollars a month for renting a tiny near condemned
house of perhaps a 20X 30 ft. footprint. Finally she rented to a native family
where grandparents had a house-full of kids and grandchildren to raise.
We knew the grandparents were doing their best so we closed our eyes to the
grass dealings of the parents and the aunts of the children. Wanting to keep
more Indian families in the neighborhood we did not immediately come down on
them for their activity cause really grass sales is hardly more than
bootlegging booze on Sunday was my thoughts. Well kids grow up and by the time
they were 13 and 14 the kids were all out of one kind of school and into
Pharmaceutical Graduate school majoring in Street Corner Distribution and
Sales. Soon the Rock family was supporting a notorious drug dealer named
"Money" in his activities. But there was NO dealings from that house. Drugs
were stashed there and the house was used as a warehouse, but nothing was
allowed to be sold from the house.
There were fights, people assaulted on the street, domestic abuse, child
neglect you name it, but NO sales from the house. That caused some major
problems in addressing the real problem of shutting the house down. The real
problem was the property owner refusing to accept responsibility for the
actions of her tenants, Ms. Brown even threatened a Minneapolis City Inspector
and scared her so bad that Inspections left her house alone.
Finally, the family engaged in a shooting war with members on another drug gang
down the street. And after someone suggested that he did not mind them shooting
each other but they should get the little kids out of the house because they
missed a lot, and if a stray bullet hit the wrong house and hurt someone then
someone else who did not miss would come in the middle of the night and kill
every adult there. Well to make a long story short they moved right away.
So on to things learned from that and other houses and more recent situations.
Here is one suggested course of action. (It takes a little work but it is worth
the effort.)
1. While the residents can help, just calling the police alone will not help.
Though the more calls for real things the better. Noise, neglected kids, what
seems to be a fight.... ANYTHING!
2. The Council Member needs to be set down in a meeting with Neighborhood
people who KNOW the law and have the backbone to use it, a member from the
Police Department (hopefully the Fourth Precinct has a "Problem Properties
Specialist"), Inspections, and possibly Welfare and Child Protection if
appropriate. A comprehensive strategy should be formulated and commitments
should be made to a course of action.
3. A certified letter notifying each the owner of record and the "Head of
Household" that they may be in control of a "Disorderly House" under Minnesota
State Statute, include the Statute in the letter. A copy of this letter should
also be sent by certified mail to the Hennepin County Attorney's office. Have
the Hawthorne Board vote on it and send the letter if no one wants to send it
themselves.
4. Now enlist the neighbors to watch the house like hawks, document in writing
time date and activity.
5. MOST importantly, call each of the "officials" weekly to ask for status and
progress, present any new information, have follow up formal meetings with the
Council Member and department representatives on status and progress. Ask CM to
have weekly status report in writing from each department.
BTW the police can possibly "turn" one of the street dealers to link the
activity to where the drugs were picked up. All you need is an arrest after the
"Notice" to have prima-facie evidence according to the law.
From experience I can tell you that you must concentrate on the owner of a
disorderly house. Even when noting the actions of the individuals coming and
going it is the owner who controls the situation and is afraid of jail. If
worse comes to worse you will also be laying the foundation for a "Nuisance
House" case.
You do have members of the Public Safety Committee for Northside City Council
Members. I think we need to have a formal meeting with that Committee to assure
they are willing to be as supportive as possible for coordinated action. We
need that meeting before the next "Party".
Remember, we take the "Heart of the City" back one house at a time, one block
at a time, and one neighborhood at a time. Perhaps if 2207 is the problem you
discribe, then it is a good start for that block.
Is this the House?
Owner Name: CALVIN STOVALL/GENEVIA BROWN
Taxpayer Name
& Address: CALVIN STOVALL/GENEVIA BROWN
2207 6TH ST N
MINNEAPOLIS MN 55411
If so Hennepin County lists that house as homesteaded.
Jim Graham,
Ventura Village
>"It is always an utter folly to underestimate the lure and attraction of a
great evil. The whitened bones of their victims litter the highways and byways
of mankinds history. Stopped only by the few willing to pay the ultimate price
and make a stand."
- Toe