RENTED HOME FOCUS OF DRUG SUIT

Family of murder victim sues owner of alleged dope
house

DETROIT -- Lamar Bufkin was only 20 when he died in a fusillade of
bullets on the front porch of a Detroit home 18 months ago.

While Bufkin's murder remains unsolved, lawyers for his family believe
that under Michigan law, the owner of the home on Prest can be held
liable for his death because the premises were used as a dope house.
In what they hope will become a new weapon against the drug trade, the
Detroit law firm of Charfoos & Christensen on Wednesday filed a civil
lawsuit against the owner of the house on behalf of Bufkin's mother.

The lawsuit contends that the property owner violated a state law
prohibiting landlords from maintaining a dwelling that is frequented
by people using drugs or that is used for keeping or selling drugs.
"We hope to break new ground in fighting drugs if we are successful,"
said one of the lawyers, A. Tony Taweel.

The law provides a civil penalty of up to $25,000, which Taweel said
he would turn over to his client, Needra Bufkin.

The lawsuit also seeks damages allowed under the Michigan Wrongful
Death Act; lost wages; funeral and burial expenses; pain and
suffering; and attorney fees.

The house on Prest is a rental property owned by Clarence and Ida
Carson and their company, Carson's Investment Inc. of Detroit.

Carson said he was aware that a young man was killed on his property,
but he said his understanding was that it involved a family feud. "If
there were drugs there, we had nothing to do with it," Carson said.

Needra Bufkin said her stepdaughter, 16, ran away in June 1998 and was
living with a cousin on Prest, next door to the house where a steady
traffic of young people bought and sold drugs.

When she heard that her daughter was seen visiting the suspected drug
house, Bufkin called the police. An officer met her on Prest and
accompanied her to the suspected drug house.

The occupants denied that her stepdaughter was inside, and Bufkin and
the police left.

Two days later, Lamar Bufkin drove to the home on Prest and knocked on
the front door. He argued with someone at the door and that person
shot Bufkin five times, police said.