Wednesday, October 15, 2008

OF CRIMINALS: And the Landlords Who Rent to Them

802 Wilkes, CDT photo
By Mike Martin for the Columbia Business Times

Googling “802 Wilkes Blvd.” -- a rental house owned for years by Wayne Fenton and Fenco Rentals -- tells a troubling tale.

A Columbia Police Department press release pops up at the top of the page:

KNIFE ASSAULT on Dec 27, 2007
LOCATION: 802 Wilkes Blvd.
VICTIM: 29-year-old male
SUSPECT: Charles E. McCoy of Columbia, Missouri

“Arrests and Summonses” from the Columbia Daily Tribune follow: Marquale Walton of 802 Wilkes Blvd., receiving stolen property, stealing, $1,000 bond; Jada Laquitte, 802 Wilkes Blvd., use or possession of drug paraphernalia, $1,000 bond; Terry Simmons, 802 Wilkes Blvd., trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, child endangerment; Marcus Smith, 802 Wilkes Blvd., domestic assault, failure to appear in court, probation and parole violation; Charles McCoy, 802 Wilkes Blvd., assault, armed criminal action.

More hits scroll from The Maneater’s Columbia Blotter: Marcus M. Smith and Charles E. McCoy of 802 Wilkes Blvd., arrested on suspicion of failure to observe traffic control devices and operating a motor vehicle on a highway with a revoked license.

The Boone County Sheriff Repeat Offenders List announces “Marcellus M. Smith, child sex offender, residing at 802 Wilkes Blvd.” The two Smiths have spent most of this decade living at 802 Wilkes and being arrested for serious offenses—26 times between them. The final Google hit is a blog entry—FED UP WITH CRIME at 802 Wilkes Blvd.

Fed up maybe, but powerless, it seems, to do much about it.

Crime Cycle

In Columbia, where a significant percentage of offenders are renters, crime often cycles like a broken record: break law; post bond; pay rent; do jail time at home; fail to appear in court; and break the law again, but this time more violently.

For crime-conscious landlords, the cycle isn’t that hard to break. Columbia Police officer “Tim Thomason sends us a letter reporting difficulties each and every time one of our tenants gets into trouble," said Phil Warnken, who added that his firm, Warnken Properties, doesn’t tolerate criminal activity. Tenants who commit crimes "are out,” Warnken says. “We evict them.”

But for Wayne Fenton—who owns the faded white duplex at 802 Wilkes, a block from Columbia College and mere yards from both a Methodist church and Hickman High School—the cycle of crime has continued unabated for nearly 13 years. With 60 tenant arrests since 1995 and nearly two dozen police calls to the duplex in the past twelve months alone, Fenton—who purchased the 90-year-old property in 1993—seems as disinclined to end the problem as he was to talk about it.

“I’m not interested in being part of a story,” said Fenton, whose office at the former Fenco Satellite Country is only two blocks away. “I have nothing to say and I don’t want to be part of any story.”

No wonder. Stories about Fenton’s tenants have been anything but flattering.

“A Columbia man was arrested on suspicion of three felonies after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and forced her to remain at home,” read a January 2004 Columbia Daily Tribune story. “Marcus M. Smith, 32, of 802 Wilkes Blvd. was released from Boone County Jail after posting $10,500 bond. Police said that Smith kicked and punched the victim and knocked her to the ground.”

Three years later, “Columbia police arrested a man and a woman after searching 802 Wilkes Blvd. for evidence of illegal drug activity,” the Trib reported in October 2007. “They arrested Charles McCoy and Jada Laquitte on suspicion of possessing marijuana and cocaine paraphernalia. McCoy was also arrested on an outstanding Boone County warrant.”

Two months later, “Columbia police officers were dispatched after receiving reports of a disturbance in the front yard of 802 Wilkes Blvd. and found a victim with a stab wound in his side,” the Trib reported in December 2007. “Police later arrested Charles McCoy of the residence in connection with the stabbing and charged him with second-degree assault and armed criminal action.”

Toothless Tiger

Landlords who ignore crime are supposed to face sanctions—up to and including property forfeiture—under Columbia’s Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance. "Unlawful activity on property diminishes the quality of life in the neighborhood," the law says. "It is in the public interest for property owners to be vigilant and responsible."

But riddled with technicalities, the now two-year-old ordinance—section 16-315D of the city code—has been enforced exactly zero times. “We’ve tried to move against landlords with the nuisance law,” a CPD officer told me. “But our legal department ties our hands. They are very reluctant to let us use it.”

Until city leaders enact meaningful legislation against errant landlords, Tim Thomason—who directs the city’s Crime Free Housing Program—sees no end to Columbia’s spiking crime rate.

“You know my opinion on what we need to do to solve our crime problem,” Thomason told me. “Get landlords to take responsibility and do something about the criminal decisions their tenants make. Until we do that, we will not reduce crime in our city.”


Crime and Tenancy at 802 Wilkes Blvd.

 
Marcus Montez Smith, 35, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, third-degree domestic assault, $1,000 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 35, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, third-degree domestic assault, failure to appear in court, probation and parole violation, $1,500 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 35, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., driving with suspended license, failure to observe traffic controlled devices.
Marcus Montez Smith, 33, of 802 Wilkes Blvd. Apt. A, first-degree property damage, careless and imprudent driving resulting in an accident, second offense of driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident, third-degree assault, first-degree child endangerment, third-degree domestic assault, first-degree burglary, ex parte violation, $111,645 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 33, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, third-degree domestic assault, ex parte violation, second-degree property damage, third-degree domestic assault, $3,500 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 33, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, third-degree domestic assault, ex parte violation, second-degree property damage, third-degree domestic assault, $3,500 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 33, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, failure to appear in court, $364.50 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 33, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, failure to appear in court, first-degree tampering, resisting arrest, armed criminal action, first-degree burglary, $56,500 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 32, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, second-degree domestic assault, false imprisonment, false impersonation, tampering with a witness, $11,000 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 31, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, failure to appear in court, third-degree domestic assault, $616.50 bond
Marcus Montez Smith, 31, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, out-of-county warrant, $644 bond.
Marcus Montez Smith, 30, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, escape from confinement, no bond set

Marcellus Montell Smith, 29, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, bond revocation, no bond set.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 29, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, third-degree assault, failure to appear in court, out-of-county warrant, $3,000 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 29, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, third-degree assault, second-degree child endangerment, $1,000 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smtih, 29, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to register as a sex offender, $1,000 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 27, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear in court, probation-and-parole violation, littering, $2,325 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 27, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear in court, $2,000 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 27, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., open container violation, littering, $400 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 27, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., stealing, $500 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 26, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear in court, second-degree sexual misconduct, third-degree assault, $1,225 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 22, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., two counts failure to appear, probation and parole violation, $2,180 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 22, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, second-degree property damage, $500 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 20, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., distribution, manufacture orpossession of a controlled substance, no bond set.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 20, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., possession of a controlledsubstance, $7,500 bond.
Marcellus Montell Smith, 20, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., bond revocation, $5,000bond.

Charles Edwin McCoy, 28, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear in court, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree trafficking, $5,000 bond.
Charles Edwin McCoy, 28, 802 Wilkes Blvd., driving with a suspended licenseCharles Edwin McCoy, 27, 802 Wilkes Blvd., assault, armed criminal actionCharles Edwin McCoy, 27, 802 Wilkes Blvd., use or possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to appear in court, possession of marijuana

Terry Allen Simmons, 20, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., stealing, $500 bond.
Terry Allen Simmons, 20, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., second-degree trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree child endangerment, $5,000 bond.Terry Allen Simmons, 20, of 802 Wilkes Blvd. Apt. A, failure to appear in court, $500 bond.Terry Allen Simmons, 20, 802 Wilkes Blvd., driving while license is suspended or revoked
Terry Allen Simmons, 21, of 802 Wilkes St., driving unlicensed vehicle, stealing, failure to provide proof of insurance, no operators, $1,300 bond.

Marquale D’Angelo Walton, 18, 802 Wilkes Blvd., possession of marijuana
Marquale D’Angelo Walton, 19, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., possession of a controlled substance.
Marquale D’Angelo Walton, 18, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., tampering with physical evidence, manufacturing an imitation substance, $9,000 bond.
Jada Marie Laquitte, 37, 802 Wilkes Blvd., use or possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana

Clifton Leonard Lewis, 18, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., out-of-county warrant, $5,000bond.
Clayton Forrest Sharpe, 40, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., forgery, $20,000 bond.
Daniel Anthony Thornton, 17, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., third-degree assault, $1,000bond.

Linda Kay Sharp, 43, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., second-degree assault, use orpossession drug paraphernalia, $10,250 bond.

Harry William Harrell, 33, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., out-of-county warrant, twocounts bond revocation, $2,485 bond.
Harry William Harrell, 34, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., driving while license issuspended or revoked, possession of a controlled substance, no valid driver'slicense, out-of-county warrant, $9,461.50 bond.

Allisha Dawn Baker, 18, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., Apt. A, forgery, $5,000 bond.

John Raymond Jennings, 31, of 802 Wilkes St., Apt. B, two out-of-county warrants, $3,850 bond.
John Raymond Jennings, 31, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., resisting arrest, third-degree assault, $4,000 bond.
John Raymond Jennings, 31, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., first-degree burglary, second-degree child endangerment, first-degree tampering, third-degree assault, third-degree assault on an officer, $9,000 bond.

Daniel Aaron Kinney, 19, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear, municipal charge, $7,775 bond

Manzell Darnell Payne, 24, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., false imprisonment, $1,000 bond
Manzell Darnell Payne, 25, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., driving while license suspended or revoked, $254.50 bond.

Jose Patillo-Gonzalez, 44, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., stealing, immigration detainment, $500 bond.
Rebecca Lynne Harris, 18, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., first-degree trespassing.
Johnny Lee Shafer, 36, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., third-degree domestic assault, $1,000 bond.

Normia Renee Conner, 26, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear in court, deceiving police, failure to maintain financial responsibility, driving while license is suspended or revoked, no tail lamps, failure to register, $2,044.50 bond.Normia Renee Conner, 26, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., failure to appear in court, $750 bond.

Whitney D. Pruitt, 17, of 802 Wilkes Blvd., stealing.

4 comments:

  1. That is quite a long list of criminal occupants and it is sad that the Columbia Police Department seems powerless to do something? Oh give us all a break here! Also my next question to this obvious problem is how many of the convicted offenders were Section 8 Housing Voucher recipients through the Columbia Housing Authority? This goes back to a highly debated issue talked about on this forum here:
    http://board.columbiatribune.com/index.php?showtopic=6935&st=0&start=0
    I agree with Mike that these landlords or better yet slum lords need to be gone after,their property seized and some fines be implemented if they allow these types of criminal activities to continue on their properties. It is time the citizens of Columbia stop being so complacent and take a stand against all forms of crime in our city.

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  2. Obviously there are still plenty of problems at 802 Wilkes. Search the Columbia Tribune and all sorts of recent arrests come up. Sickening the neighbors are forced to put up with this stuff and the danger it creates!

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  3. It doesn't help either that decent people don't want to rent from Wayne. I rented one of his properties on Jefferson and never had a single problem with him. His properties are cheap and not in the mosy desiranle parts of town so the types of people that end up there are those who fit into that part of town. Higher crime. If decent people would apply to live in his properties, this wouldn't be a problem.

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  4. I think whoever wrote this story needs to stop judging everyone over a few bad apples , decent people ,who the hell are you compared to anyone else ,at least Fenton does not discriminate, get your head out of your ass

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