MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shootings, robberies and murders. Tenants say their South Memphis apartment complex is plagued with violence.
On Tuesday, gunfire erupted at the Hillview Village Apartments off Alcy, injuring six people including a pregnant woman.
“I used to stay over there when I was young. It`s been bad ever since. There`s been robberies and shootings,” said the pregnant woman’s brother, Mario Denton.
He and family members of other victims said the apartments are a breeding ground for crime.
Just last month, WREG told you about a father of nine who was reportedly shot and killed driving his car there.
Not to mention the countless stories we told you about in 2017 when police reported gang activity, a murder, violent robberies and more.
“We work very close with the police department. We rely on their information,” said Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich.
She said there have been 108 calls to the complex in the past year which is down from previous years before the complex joined the anti-trespass program.
“It gives police the ability to arrest individuals on that property who aren’t supposed to be on that property,” she said.
WREG found out Hillview is run by Eureka Family management group out of Texas and scored just above passing on its last HUD inspection a year ago.
“When you have a lot of calls of service to police at a certain location, we look a that property in terms of what’s going on there?” said Weirich. “What else is going on there? Has it been a couple bad hours or days or has this been an ongoing issue?”
Other troubled apartments joined Safeways to fix issues in the past. It’s a company that works for property owners to help reduce crimes.
Hillview is not a part of Safeways.
Weirich said it’s best to call MPD when you see a crime problem. It helps them track what’s going on at the property.
“There may very well be work going on, because it’s going to take some time to see the results of that,” she said.
She said shutting down an apartment is the last resort, because they don’t want to displace families.
“It would seem unfair and unjust to always ask a judge to shut a place down. Often times, the people causing the problems at a location have nothing to do with that location,” she said.
“It’s easier to shut down a night club, because it doesn’t displace people. It might affect people’s employment, but it doesn’t affect where you sleep at night and where your kids sleep at night.”
Hillview’s management sent a statement saying, “Our SkyCop camera system has been a huge help to MPD in their investigation. We have also increased our onsite security guard/off duty police officer coverage in the short term. We will continue to cooperate with police as they continue their investigation, and will address any issues directly if any tenants are found to be involved.”