SEIZURE SPARKS EVICTION DEBATE

Landlord says only tenants sold crack, but authorities say he still
must forfeit home

The plight of an elderly man losing his home could serve as a warning
to Augusta's inner-city landlords.

At the same time, it has raised issues in criminal-property seizure
that the Richmond County Sheriff's Department has never
encountered.

Alex Bettis Hammond once owned what narcotics investigators described
as one of the city's worst crack houses - a den of drugs, violence,
prostitution and filth. Today, the sheriff's department owns the
decaying bungalow at 911 Ninth St. after seizing it in a Superior
Court hearing in September.

But that hasn't stopped Mr. Hammond and others from continuing to live
there. And police say it hasn't stopped drug activity at the
government-owned property, either - the first time an owner or
occupants have not voluntarily vacated a property confiscated by
Richmond County authorities.

"We have to start up an eviction process, just like anyone else
would," said Lt. Robert Partain of the sheriff's narcotics unit. "We
didn't seek to put the man out. We sought to eliminate a problem."

Now the sheriff's department wants the Augusta Commission's blessing
to raze the house. Not only is it still a mecca for junkies, its
dilapidated condition poses health risks, according to the department.

Lying on a mattress in a cluttered back room Friday, Mr. Hammond said
drug dealing and dope smoking no longer go on in the house. While a
procession of men and women continued in and out a back door and up
and down a dank hallway lined with doors leading to darkened, crowded
rooms, Mr. Hammond professed he still owns the house and believes he
has a right to continue renting rooms.

The man affectionately known as "Mr. Boo" was never implicated in any
of the cases that led to forfeiture of the home where he says he's
lived more than 15 years.

He is in his 80s, is disabled and suffers kidney problems requiring
dialysis three times a week. With help, he can ease into his
wheelchair and enjoy the cool air from his front porch as the sun falls.

"I wish I'd stopped it sooner," Mr. Hammond said of the drug use. "I
didn't, and it's too late now."

Inner-city eyesore

Drug investigators doubt anything has changed. Since the condemnation,
the sheriff's narcotics division has reported seven cocaine arrests
and four marijuana arrests at the address. Three arrests were of the
same people who had been among a slew of arrests before the seizure.

More than a dozen busts for drugs, prostitution and disorderly conduct
have been made in front of the home, which faces a swimming pool at
Dyess Park near the Hopkins Street intersection. An additional 56
visits have been made by patrol deputies for assaults, fights,
suspicious people and weapons reports, among other things.

Investigators who have been called to the house reported seeing human
feces covering the back yard; rats and cockroaches scurrying across
floors; and exposed pipes leaking sewage. Outside, garbage and old
furniture scattered in the overgrown yard and the structure's
crumbling brick facade are eyesores, they said.

"This is without a doubt the worst house on the street," Investigator
Allan Rollins said.

At a May 8 meeting, the city commission's Administrative Services
Committee approved destroying the house. A deciding vote on the issue
will be cast by the full commission at its regular meeting at 2 p.m.
today. Demolition could begin 90 days after commission approval, City
Attorney Jim Wall said.

When Mr. Hammond operated a boarding house at the home, it was the
renters - not the landlord - who caused clashes with police. Between
March 1998 and June 1999, the narcotics unit logged 12 drug arrests
and six drug raids at the home, one raid turning up 27 crack pipes,
according to court documents.

Mr. Hammond was told on nearly every occasion to control his tenants,
investigators said. He would verbally agree to help, but the 911 calls
to 911 Ninth St. continued.

"How many times can you warn somebody?" Investigator Rollins asked.
"It's unfortunate that he's caught in the middle, but somebody had to
do something sometime."

'It don't feel good'

Lt. Partain, also of the narcotics unit, said at least two other known
crack houses in the county are ripe for condemnation. Because the
investigations are continuing, he declined to disclose their locations.

A Georgia law designed to prevent profiteering and reimburse
drug-fighting police gives local governments authority to seize
property used in drug crimes. Property can also be taken in cases of
armed robbery, racketeering and DUI habitual violations.

A forfeiture is a civil action, so prosecutors have the burden of
proving a preponderance of evidence - not beyond a reasonable doubt. A
criminal conviction is not necessary.

During court proceedings, the district attorney's office contended
crack and marijuana were being sold, stored and used at the Ninth
Street lot on a regular basis.

Because Mr. Hammond was repeatedly warned and was aware of the illegal
activity, the fact that he was never charged is irrelevant under the
law.

So the next step for authorities is to evict him.

Alex Hammond Jr. appeared on his father's behalf when the issue was
discussed in the committee meeting last week. He said his father would
be displaced should the house be destroyed.

Commissioner Willie Mays, whose district includes the property and who
operates a mortuary not far from it, expressed similar concerns and
said he would prefer to see the house repaired and drug pushers run
out of the area.

"Unless you've got a senior citizen drug criminal over there, we can
at least try to find somewhere to put this old man," Mr. Mays said at
the meeting.

The elder Mr. Hammond said he has plenty of places to go. He could use
his disability checks to rent a room nearby, he said. Other options
include relatives and public housing.

"It don't feel good," Mr. Hammond said. "But I can't do nothing about
it."