Bluff Park, Alabama Forum

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General Category >> Neighborhood Watch >> Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13)
http://bluffparkal.org/bpforum/YaBB.pl?num=1358810383

Message started by Officer Foreman on 01/21/13 at 5:19pm

Title: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13)
Post by Officer Foreman on 01/21/13 at 5:19pm

This morning we responded to a reported shooting at Ashford Townhomes. There was a death as a result of the shooting and the Jefferson County Coroner responded to the scene. Detectives are working on finding out the exact circumstances involved. At this time we do not feel there is any danger to the public. More information will be released when available.

Update on 1/22/13: The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office has released the name of the deceased (Nicholas Taylor Schneider, a resident of Hoover). On the day of the shooting an adult male was taken into custody at the scene by Hoover Police Officers. The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office will require additional time to fully investigate the circumstances of this case prior to making any decision to issue warrants. The adult male was released from custody this afternoon.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes
Post by _anonymous_ on 01/21/13 at 5:37pm

Quail Creek. Awesome. Perhaps a public safely checkpoint in the vicinity from time to time would help deter future actions of this nature.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes
Post by teeechur on 01/22/13 at 7:25am

Could anyone tell me why Ashford Townhomes are not listed in Hoover Police's Apartment/Condo Calls by Month section. Are these apartments not located within the city of Hoover?

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes
Post by Officer Foreman on 01/22/13 at 11:36am

They are in the City. I will check with our IT personnel to find out what happened and get back with you.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes
Post by irrigator on 01/22/13 at 5:25pm

At one point(many name changes ago) Ashford Townhomes had a Hoover police office living there, is that still the case? Thanks.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes
Post by BluffParkWriter on 01/22/13 at 5:38pm

@RobinsonCarol: al.com Tweet
Suspect in Hoover shooting released from custody pending further investigation http://t.co/qEu66pJx

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by _anonymous_ on 01/24/13 at 9:42pm

Less than a mile from the Mr. P's shooting. That wasn't Hoover, but definitely Bluff Park. Suspects in both shootings are still at large. Don't just carry your concealed weapons people. Train with them and know the circumstances when it is and is not appropriate to use them. The police can not protect you. That is your job. Steel city and Hoover tactical are 2 very close places to work on your skills. Please consider a good flashlight and a can of mace.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by teeechur on 01/24/13 at 10:23pm

Officer Foreman, were you able to find out why Ashford is not listed on the Hoover police website?
Thanks

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by Officer Foreman on 01/24/13 at 11:32pm

I have heard back from our IT personnel. There was some confusion when the street names were entered in the original database over a year ago since Autumn Village and Ashford Townhomes have a connecting road. The issue has been resolved and future calls for service will be correct. In the mean time, we have compiled the calls for service for Ashford Townhomes covering all of 2012. You can see the calls at this link: http://www.hooverpd.com/ftpupload/upload/CFSAshford2012.pdf

Thanks,

Brian

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by overhere on 01/25/13 at 6:36am

Okay, I just have to ask. Looking at the call outs for HPD to Ashford for 2012, wouldn't it make sense to use the Police substation for more than just a rest stop? Bluff Park has got to be one of if not the least covered areas that HPD has and this document pretty much confirms that. >:(

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by bpresident on 01/25/13 at 6:59am

overhere wrote:

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by bluffparkdmd on 01/25/13 at 8:44am

I'll second bpresident's idea

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by teeechur on 01/25/13 at 8:58am

Officer Foreman, thanks for following up on my request.
These calls indicate a LOT of bad things going on in those apartments; domestic violence, wanted person, controlled substances, etc. Getting rid of these apartments would be a grand idea but would required a lot of money to buy them out as was mentioned on Lorna. Having a full-time presence at the substation would help.
It would certainly seem like two recent shootings in the area would justify such a police presence.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by PastAndPresents on 01/25/13 at 2:09pm

I am next door to the apartments in the little white house. Thanks to Officers Studyvin, Hale, and Nichols who have all been by the shop to introduce themselves, I feel safe. Their presence at the substation would be nice, but seeing them on the street and in the parking lot watching the apartments along with my building seems like a better situation to me.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by bpresident on 01/25/13 at 8:02pm

PastAndPresents wrote:

So are they there all the time? That does make me feel better actually. I thought they still had the entire huge zone to patrol, which includes all the way to Hwy. 31. But if they are staying in Bluff Park full time now, that is good. How often do you see them, by the way?

By the way, wouldn't you rather have a nice park to look at instead of some ugly apartments?

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by ht2 on 01/28/13 at 2:42pm

The Ashford Townhomes had 389 call-outs in 2012? That's more than 1 per day. Is that normal?

I have long wished that those apartments would go away. These apartments are a big problem. We are moving to another house, and likely another part of OTM Birmingham, in large part because of these apartments. My neighbors across the street are doing the same for the exact same reason. We have safety concerns, and we are also concerned that the crime is detrimentally impacting our property values.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by _anonymous_ on 01/30/13 at 7:34pm

I emphatically third bpresident 's proposal that the apartments and townhomes be razed. City of Homewood also purchased a large sketchy apartment complex. They demolished it and put a nice school in its place. The tax revenue for whatever property replaced the apartments and townhomes would need to be equal to or greater than that of what is there now. If I am not mistaken, there exists a law permitting either the residents in an area blighted by a hotel or their local government to bring suit against the owner for devaluation of property. I wonder if this can be applied to rental properties?
having a cop sitting in the substation is a waste of resources. I do know you can hire off duty Jefferson County Deputies for $20.00/hour to work off duty. That's 100 bucks for five hours of law enforcement in whatever area you choose. They absolutely can enforce all state laws inside the city. I seriously considered it when the Burglaries were happening. Hoover has excellent officers but one cop for everything between I65 and 150 from shades crest to Hwy 31 can only do so much. Neighborhood watch is a very effective tool, when people are home to watch.
Maybe we need a city council person who has a personal interest in Bluff Park. Serniglia was a little ambitious shooting for Mayor, but council seat should be well within reach.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by Bluff Park Forum Admin on 01/31/13 at 5:34am

_anonymous_ wrote:

Couple of corrections, but good post. Jason ran for City Council, not mayor. He ran against John Greene, who lives in Bluff Park. Gene Smith also lives in Bluff Park. Although they are regular readers of the forum (and forum members), we'll send them an e-mail to make sure they have checked out what folks have been saying lately.

In case anyone would like to speak to them about this in person, there will be a presentation of Heather's book about Bluff Park at the Feb. 4 council meeting, so there will be focus on Bluff Park at the time.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by _anonymous_ on 02/01/13 at 9:00am

SORRY I couldn't find an Alabama case, but this is what I was referring to:

http://dirt.umkc.edu/dd032896.htm

Several years ago, a California court held that adjacent landowners stated a cause of action in nuisance against the San Francisco Housing Authority when they alleged that the Authority had failed to take steps to insure that criminal elements did not frequent its premises, either as tenants or visitors. In that case, the alleged injury was depreciation in property values resulting from criminal acts primarily off the Housing Authority's premises. Lew v. Superior Court, 25 Cal. Rptr. 2d 42 (Cal. Ct. App. 1993).

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by _anonymous_ on 04/17/13 at 6:03pm

Any updates?

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by teatucker on 04/18/13 at 12:49pm

bpresident wrote:

[quote author=overhere link=1358810383/0#9 date=1359117387]Okay, I just have to ask. Looking at the call outs for HPD to Ashford for 2012, wouldn't it make sense to use the Police substation for more than just a rest stop? Bluff Park has got to be one of if not the least covered areas that HPD has and this document pretty much confirms that. >:(

How about a different thought: The City of Hoover purchased an entire apartment complex at the corner of Lorna Road and Patton Chapel Road. They then terminated all leases. Then they demolished the entire complex. Now construction has begun on a Neighborhood Walmart. It was a win-win for everyone.

Perhaps we need to begin to think about having a nice park in the area of Tyler Road...

[/quote]

I will also second that (or 4th it)
Just looking at the 2012 calls http://www.hooverpd.com/ftpupload/upload/CFSAshford2012.pdf
This is just a breading ground for problems and more crime to move in our nice neighborhood. Sorry, but nothing good can come from the apartments staying.

I vote for a park.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by bluffparkdmd on 04/18/13 at 1:43pm

Add me to the "Ashford Townhomes are bad for Bluff Park" crowd. A park sounds great! A patient of mine is a contractor, and he was repairing some fire walls in some of the Ashford units back in the Fall. He noticed several other units with cracks/visible wear in the buildings. The owner or landlord was talking to him and asked what he, as a professional contractor, thought should be done to fix it. The contrator told him he should have the creek that runs through the property dammed up to create a lake.

true story

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by overhere on 04/18/13 at 7:03pm

Where's the " like " button on this site? ;D

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by pekaboo on 04/18/13 at 9:21pm

My friend has lived in Ashford for over 10 years. long story. He has tried to talk to people about taking them down or making them all nice one bedrooms. The two bedroom concept they have is ridiculous. I guess if they do tear down the apartments where are the tenants going to move. Some might have an easier time, others do not. Ashford is owned by Abbey Residential, so that could affect the out come.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by Officer Foreman on 04/19/13 at 12:20pm

Hello everyone,
I checked with the Detective assigned to the case and he informed me the District Attorney’s Office dropped all charges against the shooter after finishing their investigation.

Title: Re: Shooting at Ashford Townhomes (Updated 1/22/13
Post by PastAndPresents on 04/28/13 at 8:37pm

I am sure I am not the only person interested in knowing why the charges were dropped....