A crime-infested shopping center on Forest Lane at Audelia Road is a target for closure in a new lawsuit by the city of Dallas.
The Bent Creek Shopping Center at 9770 and 9798 Forest Lane was the scene of 66 drug arrests, seven aggravated assaults, seven weapons violations and two charges of reckless discharge of a weapon between May 2015 and last Friday, according to the lawsuit.
The landlord "knowingly tolerates the habitual criminal activity, has failed to make reasonable attempts to abate the activity, and continues to maintain the property as a common nuisance," the city's lawsuit said.
Homicides at the shopping center include the July 2015 death of Berkner High School football player Christopher Gordon. His coach, Jim Ledford, said the 15-year-old was a good kid who was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"He was a happy kid, a jovial kid, loved life and was loved by his teammates as well," Ledford said at the time. "Our team is devastated because Chris was so well liked by all of us."
The lawsuit asks a judge to allow the city to revoke the certificate of occupancy for the shopping center and close the buildings for one year.
Several business owners at the shopping center declined to be identified Tuesday for fear of retribution from the armed people they say frequent the shopping center parking lot.
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Those business people said they try to keep the bad element away and they believe the landlord does so, too.
Security cameras are in clear view at several businesses along with signs that say loitering is forbidden.
Several customers at the shopping center also declined to be identified but said they appreciate the businesses that operate at the location to serve the neighborhood. Those customers said they do not want the shopping center closed.
One customer agreed to speak on the record about Bent Creek Shopping Center.
Mareibe Ugoji said he has only lived in the neighborhood about three months.
"I don't really see that the landlord should be blamed, OK, because primarily it is not their responsibility to provide security. It is that of the city and the police," Ugoji said. "I see them around here sometimes. They need to be here more often."
Messages for city officials and the assistant city attorney who filed the lawsuit were not returned. Landlord Rooha Realty could not immediately be reached.
The lawsuit was filed Friday. A court hearing is set for March 24.
