On Friday, August 4, Macon-Bibb County filed suit in Superior Court against the owners, agents, and corporations of Green Meadows Townhomes (3317 Hollingsworth Road) due to the amount of criminal activity, emergency calls, and other reports there. Additionally, Green Meadows has consistently violated ordinances related to the safety and condition of its apartment buildings and grounds.
“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 allowing criminal activity to occur,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “We are investing millions to improve public safety – from salary increases to new equipment to mental health services to the Blight Fight and more – and we must make sure we are addressing businesses that allow violent and drug and gang-related activities to occur regularly.”
“It’s very concerning to District 9 and our entire community how bad it has gotten for people at Green Meadows, and I’m grateful we’re taking strong action to help begin making things right,” says District 9 Commissioner Al Tillman. “Every person and family in our community should be able to sit or sleep in their home without fear of being shot, and that is simply not the case here.”
The amount of activity at this location has led the Sheriff’s Office to increase regular patrols on and around the property, meaning they and the State of Georgia devote substantial public resources, attention, patrols, time, and undercover operations there. The Crime Analysis Unity has found there are more crimes per capita at Green Meadows than any other apartment complex in the area and is the most dangerous complex in the county.
BCSO sought to install camera surveillance at Green Meadows as a crime deterrent and investigative tool. Due to the threat to the safety of its employees, though, Georgia Power terminated its contract to provide outdoor lighting, thus removing the power source for the cameras.
According to records provided by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), there have been more than 144 incidents of gunfire with more than 580 rounds fired at Green Meadows between March 2022 and June 2023. Since March 2020 more than 1,800 emergency 911 calls have been placed from Green Meadows.
A summary of incidents – including a seven-year-old child being shot, murder, shootings, stabbings, indecent exposure, cruelty to children, aggravated assault, burglary, fighting with deputies, domestic disturbances, security guards fighting, selling of illicit drugs, gang activity, and more – is included in complaint, which can be read by clicking here. With the amount of violent activity and the lack of action by Green Meadows to protect its residents, it has become a haven for criminals and a threat to the health and safety of all who enter the property.
The Green Meadows security guards also pose a risk to residents and visitors. According to resident reports, security guards have informed them of a 9:00 p.m. curfew. If a security guard finds a resident outside their residence after curfew, a $100 fine (payable immediately in cash or to the guard’s Cash App) is demanded. Failure to pay said “fine” will result in the resident’s eviction. Most, if not all, of the Green Meadows residents subjected to this criminal shakedown rely on government assistance. If a resident cannot pay, the guard demands sexual favors.
Additionally, the condition of the property itself presents a danger to the health and safety of the residents and visitors. Examples of those issues are also included in the suit, which can be read by clicking here. Some of those issues include apartments without hot water, leaking at the roof and air conditioner, rodent infestation, plumbing hazards, electrical violations, sanitation issues, and more.
Since these incidents were reported to Code Enforcement, residents let officers know Green Meadows management has threatened to evict tenants who report code violations or call to report problems. Even as this complaint was being drafted, residents were calling to request inspections, and on August 2, 2023, notices of violations were filed for electrical hazards, water leaks, and interior and exterior damage.
At a hearing on Friday, August 4, Judge Bryant Culpepper appointed Boniface G. Echols of the Echols Firm, LLC as Receiver over Green Meadows Townhomes and the named Defendants who control it, including but not limited to all money, receivables, assets, contracts, and all tangible property of each legal entity associated therewith. The Order laid out in great detail what that meant for the Townhomes and what each party would be responsible for doing. That Order can be found here.
Georgia law provides that “any nuisance which tends to the immediate annoyance of the public in general, is manifestly injurious to the public health or safety, or tends greatly to corrupt the manners and morals of the public may be abated by the order of a judge of the superior court of the county in which venue is proper.” O.C.G.A. § 41-2-1.