| MEMPHIS, TN – Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons on Thursday announced that a property well known to neighbors as a “drug house” near the University of Memphis campus and St. Anne Catholic Church and School was declared a nuisance by a judge and the property will be sold to a neighbor to be renovated.
Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter granted the petition to permanently enjoin the occupant, William Tuggle, from 3598 Kearney. Tuggle was present for the hearing and consented to the action. The Shelby County Grand Jury on March 6 indicted Tuggle for numerous felony drug charges. He remains in custody at the Shelby County Jail.
The property at 3598 Kearney is owned by a trust set up for Tuggle and his siblings by their deceased parents. Tuggle had been living at the house rent free. The trustee has been cooperative with the District Attorney’s Office and has agreed to sell the property to a neighbor who intends to renovate the house and either sell it or rent it to legitimate occupants.
The Memphis Police Department’s Undercover Operations Unit and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office closed the Kearney property on February 21 under the Tennessee nuisance law. The nuisance action was filed following numerous complaints from citizens in the Normal Station Neighborhood Association and a subsequent investigation by Memphis police. During the investigation, it was clear that 3598 Kearney was a place where illegal drugs—namely crack cocaine—were frequently used and sold. The property was also the origin of numerous property crimes in the neighborhood. Additionally, Code Enforcement officers had inspected the property and found it to be uninhabitable.
“This is a victory for the neighbors who have been plagued for years by the drug trafficking out of this location. It shows how police, prosecutors and the public can work together to fight criminals, take back our neighborhoods, and make Memphis a safer place to live,” said District Attorney Gibbons.
Tennessee law states that the District Attorney General has authority to bring a civil action against any establishment deemed a nuisance. The statute defines a nuisance, in part, as “any place in or upon which… unlawful sale of any regulated legend drug, narcotic or other controlled substance…quarrelling, drunkenness, fighting, or breaches of the peace are carried on or permitted.”
The District Attorney’s Office, working with investigations by the Memphis Police Department, has filed nuisance petitions against the owners of numerous properties—both residential and businesses—under the Tennessee nuisance law. Some nuisance actions have resulted in permanent closure of the properties. Others have reopened under consent orders to alleviate the nuisance. |