Watts: Apartment complex a ‘huge problem’
City council vice president wants to address violence in complex
A troubled apartment complex had yet another shooting over the weekend, leading some city officials to demand corrective actions be taken by the property’s owners.
The Warren Manor Apartments on Dequindre Road north of Eight Mile on the city’s southwest end has been the scene of three homicides, several other shootings and associated crimes in the past three years.
Some are saying enough is enough. They want management to take steps to make the complex safe for families and individuals who rent apartments from Warren Manor.
“I’d say it’s a huge problem,” said Garry Watts, vice president of the City Council, who represents District 4. “I think we need to address it as a city and the owners need to step up and fix it also.”
According to Warren police, a local man was shot in the arm around 3 a.m. Sunday in what investigators described as “domestic” incident. They later found the suspect hiding under a blanket in his Chevy Impala. He was arrested and transported to the police department.
Police Commissioner William Dwyer said officers were called to respond to a report of a shooting that took place on the second floor of one of the units. Officers located the victim, whose gunshot wound was not considered to be life-threatening.
The victim identified the suspect before being transported to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital for medical treatment. He has since been released.
Officers conducting an investigation discovered spent bullet casings in the parking lot. They also executed search warrants for the victim’s apartment and the
suspect’s vehicle.
The police commissioner said the complex has been the source of numerous police and fire runs in the past few years. He’s hoping management can soon clean up the area.
“I have met with the new owner of the complex,” Dwyer said. “He has pledged to cooperate with the police department because obviously, there have been a number of violent crimes taking place there.”
City assessing records do not yet reflect a sale of the property. Records show the most recent transaction was in 1999 when Warren Manor Associates. LLC of Farmington Hills purchased the complex for $10.5 million. Dwyer stressed the majority of renters at Warren Manor are good people. Like Watts, he wants to improve living conditions to continue to attract quality tenants.
“We have people there who are working and trying to live a decent life,” he said. “But they sometimes feel trapped by where they are. That’s why we want to go in an aggressive manner and make things better for them.”
Dwyer said one method of ridding the property of troublesome tenants is through the eviction process in 37th District Court. He hopes to set up another meeting with management in the coming weeks.
Councilman Watts, a retired member of the Center Line police reserve force, is looking at other measures both legislatively and in terms of management to get the complex under control.
“I think we need stricter background checks of the tenants so they can be sure about the quality of individuals they are renting to, and tougher rules on the rental units,” he said.
Watts said there was a troubled residential complex in the area of 10 Mile and Hayes roads that went through a similar ordeal. Management at that facility canceled leases as they came up for renewals and took steps to remodel the facilities.
“They really cleaned that one up,” the council vice president said. “We have to be proactive because these complexes are taking up a lot of police department and fire department resources.”
Warren Manor has been the scene of at least three homicides, including the shooting death of a 10-yearold boy by his cousin in July 2020 and a 24-year-old man who was killed in a dispute over tires in December 2019.
In March of this year, Macomb County prosecutors charged Vsean Crump, 27, with second-degree murder after he allegedly shot another man five times in the back of the head in the parking lot. Police say the shooting was drug related.