COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Franklin County Municipal judge has ordered a Columbus landlord to serve time in jail and for three of his properties to be boarded up due to criminal activity and code violations.
Judge Stephanie Mingo found Jose Villavicencio in contempt of court and sentenced him to 90 days in jail for continuing to ignore violations at many of his 40 owned properties. Three of Villavicencio’s properties have been shut down, the office of Columbus City Attorney Zack Klein said in a release.
The jail sentence is Villavicencio’s second. In September 2018 he was sentenced to 178 days in jail for failure to comply with probation terms, stemming from prior Columbus city code violations. According to court documents, many of Villavicencio’s properties have a history of code violations and criminal activity. The three properties scheduled to be boarded up are at 315 Taylor Ave., 929 Bellows Ave. and 637-639 S. Wheatland Ave.
The Taylor Avenue property has been subject to investigations for drugs, including several controlled purchases of fentanyl, and a November 2021 search warrant discovered fentanyl, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, suboxone strips, drug paraphernalia, a handgun and over $1,500 in cash.
In May 2021, the Bellows Avenue property was investigated for an accidental overdose. The next month Columbus police received reports of narcotics sales and shots fired at the residence, and also made several controlled substance purchases. Police seized crack cocaine, a firearm and ammunition. The property again was targeted in January 2022 by CPD for a controlled purchase of crack cocaine.
The South Wheatland Avenue property has received numerous calls for shots fired, burglaries and drug trafficking. In August 2022, CPD seized three semi-automatic weapons, crack cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, ecstasy and over $1,000 in cash. It also has many outstanding and unattended code violations.
The Court fined Villavicencio $9,000, and property companies South German Village LLC and South German Village Medical Center, $3,000 and $6,000, respectively, for dangerous criminal activity at their properties.
Villavicencio was also ordered to pay $250 daily for each day the following properties remain in violation of the Columbus city code:
- 669 S. 22nd St.
- 463 S. 22nd St.
- 36 E. Innis Ave.
- 364-366 E. Innis Ave.
- 929-931 Bellows Ave.
- 238-240 Reeb Ave.
- 841-843 Ann St.
- 377 Berkley Rd.
- 1037-1039 S. James Rd.
- 1270 S. Ohio Ave.
- 629-631 S. Wheatland Ave.
- 637-639 S. Wheatland Ave.
- 2-8 Reeb Ave.
- 289-291 Brehl Ave.
- 315-317 Taylor Ave.
- 36 E. Innis Ave.
- 1931 Parsons Ave.
Mandatory inspections will take place by Columbus Code Enforcement and Villavicencio must obtain all necessary permits required for all repairs.