Judgment aims to clean up crime hotspots in this Brunswick County community

Law enforcement officials say residents in the Quarters community in Longwood have been living in fear for years.

But a recent court order could change that.

Superior Court Judge R. Roupe signed a consent judgment for a Chapter 19 Nuisance Abatement action against several properties on Carlon Road in Longwood, an unincorporated area of Brunswick County.

According to a news release from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, a civil nuisance abatement case was filed by the District Attorney’s Office after “two homicides, countless years and a long history of disturbances, drug violations and numerous calls to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.”

The first of the two homicides occurred when Anthony Beers was shot and killed on Carlon Road in Longwood in December 2017. A woman in the area called 911 after hearing the gunshots and found Beers lying on the ground.

Then in June 2021, Bryan Lex Traywick of Sunset Beach was found dead on Carlon Road with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.

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“It is generally the case that crime occurs randomly and at different locations,” said District Attorney Jon David. “However, when multiple acts of violence and drug dealing are observed around the same property, we have the opportunity to address the underlying environment and potentially reduce future incidents. I am grateful to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and the Nuisance Abatement Team with ALE for aggressively working this crime hotspot in the Quarters area. Thanks to their hard work and investigation, the property owners agreed to take significant remedial action to clean up this magnet of criminality.”

Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram said the addresses in the lawsuit have been a “detriment to this community for years,” and the property owners resided outside the state and were not aware of their impact on the community.

According to Chapter 19 of the North Carolina General Statutes, “nuisance” activities include using, owning, or leasing “any building or place for the purpose of assignation, prostitution, gambling, illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, illegal possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or illegal possession or sale of obscene or lewd matter” or any place where there are “repeated acts which create and constitute a breach of the peace.”

The judgment permanently prohibits the property owner, occupants, and future property owners from operating or maintaining a public nuisance at this location or anywhere within North Carolina. According to the news release, the terms of the consent judgment include removing one dwelling on the properties and only permitting one tenant to reside on the properties. If the property owner and operator do not follow the conditions in the judgment, the property could be subject to forfeiture.

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Ingram expressed his gratitude for the effort and outcome.

“This is much needed for the Longwood community to help rebuild our community and law enforcement relationships,” Ingram said. “I appreciate the communities support working with law enforcement on this investigation and helping ensure the long-time residents in this community can return to the status quo. We can only reach successful resolutions by working together.”

Scottie Shoaf, assistant special agent in charge of the Nuisance Abatement Team, said the nuisance abatement law provides remedies for “problem locations that strain law enforcement resources and cause communities to live in fear.”

“I hope this brings a positive change for residents living in this community,” Shoaf said. “These residents have resided in the Quarters community of Longwood for years and should not have to live in fear inside of their own residences.”

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Cleaning up crime in Brunswick's Longwood community