Full-time security, on-site management and other safety improvements will be required if the owners of Sandy Ridge Apartments want to stay in business.
A consent agreement filed with the courts between Sandy Ridge and the District Attorney’s Office will be discussed by the Whiteville city council Tuesday. City Manager Darren Currie shared the court order with the board in the agenda packet for the upcoming meeting. District Attorney Jon David is expected to update the board on the progress being made by the owners of the complex.
The apartment complex has been the subject of multiple 911 calls through the years, and was the scene of four murders in two years. Whiteville officials began aggressively cracking down on the complex after a shootout at Sandy Ridge sent baseball players and their families running for cover at Nolan Park in May 2021.
Robert Avant was wounded in that incident, and Katrina Huggins – who was pregnant – was hit in the arm and abdomen. Huggins and her baby survived. The shootings occurred in and near an apartment at the complex.
Multiple parents, coaches and youth ball players attended both city council and county commissioners meetings to ask for improvements at the complex after that shooting. Conditions at Sandy Ridge were one reason the county began looking into a new, larger sports complex near Southeastern Community College as part of the recreation master plan.
The city has spent millions in Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) and other grants on improvements and expansion at Nolan Park, including new playing fields and other features. Officials hope the park improvements will attract tournaments as well as providing more game space for city and county youth sports. Numerous activities have returned to the park since Whiteville Police and city officials began cracking down on crime and code violations at Sandy Ridge.
A temporary restraining order in November blocked new residents from the complex, and set specific rules for non-residents and visitors. Whiteville Police upped patrols in the area. Even Chief Douglas Ipock, Major William Hinz and other command staff took shifts to increase visibility and connect with the residents of the complex.
The complex is owned by George Marshall and Thomas Urquhart, and managed by One Management Inc.
Nuisance orders are used by local governments to enforce local ordinances and state laws against property owners. The most common uses are for rundown and derelict properties, but nuisance abatement orders can also be used against properties due to criminal activity. Among the more prominent nuisance abatements in the county are the padlocking of an illegal nightclub in Bolton and the recent demolition by the sheriff’s office of a drug house on Dessie Road near Chadbourn.
Under the terms of the order signed by David and the owners, major changes will be required if Sandy Ridge management expects to retain ownership of the facility.
Th company will be required to install a surveillance camera system, and pay $30 an hour for off-duty law enforcement officers to provide security on the property for a minimum of 12 hours per week. The owners will sign a contract with Whiteville Police allowing law enforcement to patrol and arrest trespassers. The agreement is similar to those signed with shopping centers and other semi-public properties.
Sandy Ridge will also have to hire an onsite manager who will be available in an office at the complex. Lights must be improved and maintained by the owners.
The owners will be required to perform criminal background checks on prospective tenants, consistent with federal guidelines. Criminal activity will be grounds for eviction, the order states.
Residents will be required to show government-issued identification, copies of which will be kept at the complex office for access by law enforcement. Parking permits for guests and residents will also be required. Updated tenant and banned lists will also be made available to law enforcement on request.
The complex owners will also have to meet with city fire, police and inspections personnel annually to inspect the entire property.
If the complex allows a violation of any of the provisions in the consent order, the city must give Sandy Ridge 20 days to correct the problem. If they fail to do so, the property could then be seized by the city.
District Attorney David has requested to be on Tuesday’s agenda to speak on the consent order. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and may be attended online or in person.
The full text of the consent order can be viewed here:
https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1476259/Sandy_Ridge_Apts-Filed_Consent_Judgment_and_Final_Order_of_Abatement.pdf
