Fatal shooting highlights safety concerns at south Arlington apartment complex
Stefan Powdrill was upset after walking around his old apartment complex.
Powdrill used to live at Artisan at Rush Creek at 6000 Bacara Lane, where brothers, Kaleb Williams, 17, and Josh Williams, 13, were fatally shot July 23 after an argument spilled over from a nearby business. Powdrill became concerned, he said, after noticing tools and debris around the homes.
“I was just thinking, ‘There are a bunch of kids who live here,’” He recalled in a telephone interview.
The shooting brought to light safety and maintenance issues that both the city’s code compliance office and apartment management said they are working together to fix.
A representative with the apartment complex’s property management said in a phone interview that a lot of the issues resulted from the winter storm and they are working with the city to address the issues. Apartment management also works regularly with Arlington Police regarding safety issues that arise.
Brian Daugherty, the city’s code compliance services administrator, said his department is working with management to create a long-term plan to resolve issues. His department, which enforces city rules on property maintenance and safety, had previously received complaints about overflowing dumpsters. The property was issued a citation for unclean premises July 23, according to city records, and was flagged for nuisance outside storage and graffiti July 26.
Code compliance will conduct its annual inspection on 100% of the property, including units, Daugherty said. Department employees usually inspect about 5%.
“We’re not trying to be the big, bad city,” Daugherty said in a phone interview. “At the same time, you have to maintain your property and have some livable standards out there.”
A group of community leaders and residents discussed concerns surrounding the complex with council members Ruby Faye Woolridge and Raul Gonzalez. Powdrill asked both to walk the property with him after noticing blight.
“It just made me really upset,” Powdrill said. “I saw all those code violations.”
City officials walked through the property July 25 and have had several meetings with apartment management, Daugherty and the council members said. The city has hardly heard complaints about the complex, Daugherty said.
“There are a lot of complexes like that, where they are a tighter-knit community and they handle it on their own,” he said. “We don’t have the resources to be at every single complex every single day, checking on everything.”
Aside from complaints, code compliance normally catches issues during inspections, which were abbreviated in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“It’s kind of like we hit pause on our inspection program,” Daugherty said.
Woolridge and Gonzalez reiterated concerns about the property and their desire to work with the complex and its residents at an event at the complex Tuesday evening, where several current and former tenants aired their concerns.
Gonzalez said the city would not have known about the maintenance concerns had the shooting not brought attention to the apartments.
“That’s the only reason that we found it,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t think the shooting had anything to do with the conditions they were in, but it didn’t help, that’s for sure.”
Woolridge said during the event that the brothers’ deaths “shined a light” on the community.
“We want to make it a brighter light,” she added.
How to report code violations
Residents can report code violations by calling 817-459-6777, filling out an online form or reporting issues through the city’s Ask Arlington smartphone application.
