After 3 murders, Pierce Twp. to consider resolution naming apartments public nuisance

PIERCE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - After three murders in one year at the On the Green Royal Oak Apartments in Pierce Township, township trustees are now considering declaring the complex a public nuisance.

A resolution drafted by township officials includes a 15-point plan to improve living conditions, but some neighbors at the complex say it’s time to shut the place down.

“If they got shut down tomorrow, I'd feel safer in a hotel,” said Samantha Powers. “I'd feel safer at Motel Beechmont, and that place ain't nothing either."

Powers, a mother of four, doesn't even want her children playing outside.

"It is a public nuisance. I mean, it really is. They don't want to fix anything here,” said Powers.

Powers has lived at Royal Oak since February. On her second day at the complex, Clermont County Det. Bill Brewer was shot and killed by former resident Wade Winn.

This past weekend, Craig Walker shot and killed two men after a drug deal went south.

Pierce Township Police Chief Jeff Bachman says his department is all too familiar with the complex.

“The radio runs have increased at the apartment complex this year immensely, and the trustees and administrator want to curtail that, and that's the essence of the nuisance resolution,” said Bachman.

Local 12 was not able to reach management in person or by phone Wednesday, but Bachman says the complex has made changes to try and improve the quality of life at the complex.

Bachman says management has toughened background checks for residents while evicting troublesome tenants.

“Show us how it's going to continue into the next year,” said Bachman. “It's not just, 'OK you met these requirements.' They keep it clean, they keep it safe, they keep the drugs out more, so we're all working towards that.”

But for Powers, the fixes can't come fast enough.

"New management, complete overhaul. I'm sure all these buildings need gutted and replaced. Everything,” said Powers.

The Pierce Township trustees will hold a special meeting on Jan. 6 to discuss the improvement plan and consider the nuisance resolution.

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