After two weeks in a row of reported gun activity at the Fairview Village Apartments in Carroll, a resident put together both a petition and a Facebook group to address the criminal activity. On Monday, Oct. 5, two women were arrested for brandishing firearms during a fight in the parking lot of the complex, resulting in a lockdown at the Fairview Elementary School across the street. The next Tuesday, around midnight, those two women and three others were involved in a shooting incident that saw one of them, an Ames man, transferred to a Des Moines hospital for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to his lower extremities. Three women and one man were arrested, but within 24 hours, one of the women was out on bond and involved in another altercation at the residence. Amanda Dreessen says the concerns of so many residents of Carroll about the types of crimes being committed is what spurred her into action.
Dreessen says even though there is crime everywhere, it is definitely not the norm in Carroll.
Dreessen says the petition and the Facebook group are a proactive measure. She says they want to see action now, before an errant bullet does irreparable damage. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, the petition has garnered just over 1,230 signatures out of the 1,500 requested. Dreessen says the plan is to take the petition to the Carroll City Council at their Monday, Oct. 26 meeting.
The City of Carroll has put out a notice, saying they are placing a 24-hour police presence at the Fairview Village Apartments and have implemented a zero-tolerance policy for any infractions. They are also working with the property owner, Northwest CPH, LLP, and the property manager, Carlson Properties of Spencer, to address the concerns. The property management team will work to evict tenants by means available through state law while also installing security cameras that will be accessible to law enforcement. Dreessen says the city is doing the best they can, but a lot of the issues arise from repeat offenders, who are slipping through the cracks in the court system. She adds the punishments need to be harsher so that a lesson is learned. Dreessen outlines more of the ideas that have come from the Facebook group.
For those wishing to sign the petition, a link to that has been included below. A link to the End the Crime at Fairview Village Apartments Facebook group is also included here. Dreessen says the group does include residents of the apartment complex to get their feedback on ways to make them and their children feel safe in their homes.
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Link to End the non-stop crime at Fairview Village Apartments petition: https://www.change.org/p/carroll-iowa-city-manager-get-rid-of-fairview-village-apartments?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=56aae9a0-75ea-11ea-9741-971e929c89c2
Link to End the crime at Fairview Village Apartments Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/732241157688033
