Residents of an upscale Atlanta, community are fed up over a string of house parties at a neighborhood mansion, one of which ended with the arrest of the homeowners’ nephew late Saturday.
Since last year, police have responded to more than 100 noise and traffic complaints at a residence on Garmon Road in the Atlanta community of Buckhead, local station WSB-TV reported. The million-dollar mansion is currently at the center of a city ordinance controversy looking to crack down on so-called “party houses” in the area.
Despite the more than 100 calls to police over noisy, crowd-attracting parties at the Buckhead mansion, Atlanta authorities said their responses had rarely resulted in any action before Saturday. (WSB-TV / video screenshot)
The problem has gotten so bad that angry residents created a Twitter page dedicated to stopping “Garmon Mansion parties.”
“Concerned neighbors united to STOP the contravention of zoning, noise, business operations and special event regulations at 4499 Garmon RD NW, Atlanta, GA 30327,” a description on the account reads.
Officers were called to the home Saturday night to break up yet another big bash after someone complained about the noise. Police wound up arresting one man, whom partygoers identified as Tosin Oduwole, who runs the estate owned by his aunt and uncle.
Oduwole was charged with obstruction, in addition to a noise violation, authorities said.
Several guests seen leaving the house Saturday were shocked neighbors had dialed police in the first place, calling their response “overblown.”
“It was just a little get-together,” one man told WSB-TV. “No social media. No buzz. No celebrities. Nothing.”
The incident is the latest in a lengthy list of complaints tied to the Buckhead property. A party thrown by Atlanta rapper YFN Lucci at the residence last Friday drew the ire of neighbors, who called police over the noise. Oduwole told WSB-TV at the time that he didn’t authorize the party and was planning on taking legal action against the renter for deceiving him.
“That was not an event that I co-signed on or agreed to,” Oduwole said, claiming the renter told him she was using the house for a small pamper party, a sort of adult sleepover event. “There was someone that deceived me as far as what they were looking to do.”
Oduwole, who’s lived at the residence for several years and manages his family’s real estate portfolio, said Lucci’s wild party caused damage to the property.
“We are taking legal action, and I can assure my neighbors those events do not happen here every day,” he added.
Despite the countless calls to police, the responses haven’t resulted in much action, Atlanta police confirmed to the station. Before Saturday, Oduwole said he’d only been cited and hit with a fine twice before.
“The [officers] always tell me, ‘Look there’s no crime being committed. There’s no law being broken. We just have to respond to the 911 calls,’” he said.
The young man told WSB-TV he sometimes rents out the home for special events, or for exterior filming for shows liked ABC’s “The Bachelor,” which isn’t against the law. What is against the law, however, is hosting large scale commercial events on residential properties — a crime neighbors accuse Oduwole of committing.
In just the last two weeks, police said they’ve received 79 calls and complaints tied to the residence. FOX 5 Atlanta reported that 53 of the calls were self-initiated patrols while 13 of the remaining calls were for noise complaints.
The disturbances have since prompted Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Councilman J.P. Matzigkeit to propose new legislation aimed at banning “party houses” for good.
“The proposed regulations are common sense measures to ensure our neighborhoods are safe, friendly and livable for all who call Atlanta home,” Bottoms said in a statement. “This is about ensuring accountability for unlawful party and event planners who create nuisance and disorder in our communities.”
City leaders said they plan to hold a series of town hall meetings to get the community’s input on the growing issue. Oduwole said he hopes to meet with his neighbors and city leaders before then to resolve what he believes has been a simple “miscommunication.”
“I would really like to get to them face-to-face and they can see me and we can speak and they can understand who they’re dealing with,” he said. “I’m not a party promoter. I’m not a rapper. I’m not in the entertainment industry. I’m a teacher.”
The home’s owners, Adeyinka Adesokan and Paula Nelson, are former Atlanta physicians and have since returned to their native Nigeria.
Watch more in the video below.
