Montgomery City Council hears from apartments with history of crime

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Montgomery City Council is cracking down on apartment complexes that have a history of crime.

Montgomery police say they have received 30 calls to respond to the Budgetel Inn in the past month, and 475 calls in about a year.

Officials say shootings and drug deals are all too common.

“We got to get a gap on that because all that stuff does is spread throughout Montgomery,” said Councilman “CC” Calhoun.

The owner of the Budgetel Inn spoke before the City Council on Tuesday. He said he bought the inn in January with pure intentions.

“I want to be a very neat and clean business,” said Tahir Mahboob. “But the problem is the homeless peoples, the drug peoples, the prostitution.”

The inn offers extended stays, and for just $60 per night. Officials say people are using it like an apartment complex. The Montgomery City Council have given the Budgetel Inn a July 5 deadline to get a handle on this issue.

Similar problems are happening at Montgomery’s Sherwood Apartments. MPD reports shootings, murders, robberies, burglaries and stolen cars. The business owner does not live in Montgomery but says he is trying to resolve the issue.

“We kicked out a lot of tenants,” said Sal Becker. “So we have some vacancies that were causing the trouble, and I believe that quieted it down a lot.”

He stressed he has had difficulty finding a security company for his apartment complex.

Councilwomen Audrey Graham said she wants him to try harder, claiming he has had two months to iron out these issues.

“When we have a young lady who was laying in her bed and was shot and killed in her bed and we have yet to find out who shot her or anything about that, that’s a priority,” Graham said.

Montgomery police say they are ready to respond to these crimes but admit property owners need to do more to attract the right crowds.

“As soon as we can get them to cooperate and do some of the things that we’ve recommended and suggested, then hopefully we can see a better resolution,” said Police Chief Darryl Albert.

The council is giving the Sherwood Apartments two weeks to find a security company.

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