Landlords Must Do More to Protect Tenants from Violence on Mayson Turner Road

• November 21, 2022
• Attorney Matt Stoddard
• Negligent Security

The amount of security a landlord must provide depends on the likelihood of violence on or around the property. If violent crime is unheard of in a certain area, landlords don’t need to protect against it. When violent crime is a known threat, on the other hand, landlords are legally obligated to provide tenants with appropriate protection.

Unfortunately, landlords often refuse to accept this as part of the cost of doing business, until they’re forced to pay for crime-related damages in court.

Mayson Turner Road NW is definitely an area where apartment management companies should expect to pay for quality security. Any landlord hoping to treat the area as safe got their warning in 2016, when an 18-year-old was gunned down in front of his friends at the corner of Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, leaving police without suspects or leads.

Since that time, however, local apartment security has often proven lax or worse.

In January of 2022, there was a stabbing at the Heritage Pointe apartments. That complex did have security guards — security guards who a month later robbed a man at gunpoint themselves.

Needless to say, tenants along Mayson Turner Road NW deserve better. Like anyone anywhere, they have a right to safety in their own homes.

The Latest Victim Was Shot Through the Wall of Her Own Apartment

This attack took place in the Gardens at Washington Park complex at 934 Mayson Turner Road NW, less than a mile away from any of the above incidents.

A woman was inside her own unit at the complex at around 2:00am on the morning of October 31st, when she was shot through the exterior wall. Unlike similar incidents, where people have been hit by stray bullets in their homes, this woman was shot multiple times, suggesting that she was deliberately targeted.

She was hospitalized, and her current condition has not been released.

Although the investigation is still young, police have not made any arrests or shared any theories on motive or suspects, much like the aftermath of the 2016 shooting.

Current reporting on the incident does not mention any surveillance footage or comments from on-site security personnel. If the owners of the Gardens at Washington Park made any efforts to protect this woman, or at least prevent her attack from going unsolved, they haven’t proven effective so far.

The Stoddard Firm Excels at Holding Property Management Companies to the Law

The Stoddard Firm has represented many victims of negligent apartment security in the Atlanta area, and we’re experts on every part of the process.

• Finding the property owners (this can sometimes be the hardest part, when the property is managed through shell companies).
• Establishing that similar forms of crime are a known threat on or around the property.
• Documenting how the property owners responded (or failed to respond) to previous signs of danger, and comparing this with more effective techniques employed on similar properties.
• Detailing the full extent of the victim’s losses as a result of the crime, including medical bills, pain, and psychological harm.

Compelling landlords to live up to their legal duties is no easy task, but we believe that every ruling that reaffirms landlord responsibilities and puts money back in the hands of wronged tenants makes a difference.

If you are the woman who was shot at the Gardens at Washington Park, or if you have also been harmed by violent crime in an Atlanta apartment complex, reach out to The Stoddard Firm to learn about your options.