Update on 4499 Garmon Road “Party House”

An arrest warrant was issued this morning (October 22) against the operator of the so-called ‘party house’ at 4499 Garmon Road for failing to appear for trial in Atlanta Municipal Court yesterday.
 
Olutosin (Tosin) Oduwole was to go on trial for disorderly conduct, violating the city’s noise ordinance, and two zoning violations. He also faced arraignment on four other counts.
 
A security guard who was cited for a noise violation and for providing false information to law enforcement officers during an August 17, 2019, party did appear. He entered a guilty plea and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in their cases against Oduwole. The guard was fined $1,000, but a six-month jail sentence was suspended in lieu of unsupervised probation as long as he cooperates with authorities.
 
That is important because the city of Atlanta has filed a complaint against Oduwole in Fulton County Superior Court for creating a public nuisance. The city is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent a scheduled bridal show at the house on October 27.
 
Led by District 8 Council Member JP Matzigkeit and Mt. Paran Northside Citizens Association President Sally Riker, eight neighborhood residents showed up at court. Two of the neighbors and JP provided statements to the court. One recounted 21 months of ‘non-stop parties’ and fireworks at 3 a.m. The other, the father of a 9-year-old and 11-year-old, told of playing with his children and hearing loud and profane language and music lyrics. ‘That language may be OK in (the privacy of) a club, but not when you can hear it in (your own) front yard,’ he said.
 
JP described the vast sums the city has spent on police, zoning, water department and city attorneys addressing this nuisance. ‘We just want our neighborhoods to be neighborhoods (again),’ he said. ‘Give us our neighborhood back.’ Chief Municipal Judge Christopher T. Portis said ‘we pay close attention to these impact statements. People need to be good neighbors.’ Apparently mindful of the public attention this case has received, Judge Portis said it would serve as an example ‘for others to see and to know that these matters will be treated seriously.’ 
 
In the meantime, a proposed ordinance by JP to ban ‘party houses’ is working its way through the city’s legislative process. And water to the house remains off for nonpayment of bills.