DECATUR - Robert Maulding was angry when he spoke at a recent Decatur City Council meeting about the situation at the apartment building at 735 W. Decatur St.

Maulding, whose house is near the 30-unit building, said its equipment is not in working order and the structure has become a site of criminal activity that keeps residents and the neighborhood inside after dark.

Maulding, who knows many of the tenants, said law-abiding residents of the apartment building live in constant fear.

"I spoke to this council two and a half months ago," Maulding said. "In that time, we've had six assaults, a murder, a rape and who knows how many burglaries."

The crime analysis office of the Decatur Police Department shows police received more than 300 calls from the 700 block of West Decatur Street within the past six months, many of them regarding violent crimes, ranging from unlawful use of weapons to domestic violence or battery.

The building, owned by Scott Properties, is a two-tiered structure with 30 apartment units. Resident Mary Crumble, who has lived there for eight months, said she and her neighbors have appliances and utilities that don't work. She added that her landlord has made no attempt to fix them.

The owner of Scott Properties, Brandon Scott of Champaign, said he has put money into maintaining the building, including replacing appliances and ridding the structure of termites.

"I've owned the building for three years," Scott said. "In those three years, I have never made any money off of the building."

Scott said he is attempting to evict all tenants who owe him rent.

"My goal is to get rid of all current tenants not paying rent, which will leave me with about four or five tenants," Scott said. "In a very short time, the worst bad apples that are causing the problems in the neighborhood, have been or will be evicted."

Scott took several of his tenants to court Thursday in an effort to evict some and collect several months' worth of back rent from others.

In court testimony, Kari DuPont, who moved out of an apartment earlier this month, said the last time she paid rent to one former manager, he ran off with the money, and there since has been no one to collect any rent, a concern echoed by the other tenants who testified.

"Obviously, it is the tenant's prerogative to get a signed rent receipt when they pay anybody rent," Scott said. "I have to make a judgment call whether they're lying or they're not."

The court ruled against Scott's calls for eviction on the basis of tenants testifying they had not received a state-mandated five-day notice ordering them to leave.

In all the cases, Scott testified he had served the notices but had no way of proving it.

"It is very difficult to go through the process of evicting tenants; it takes time, and if you aren't extremely organized, you have to refile, as some of my cases are today, on a technicality," Scott said.

The city has taken steps to order the eviction of problem tenants at the property and taken court action against Scott, said assistant city manager Billy Tyus.

"The problems that stem from this property are largely being created by the activities of residents, not the structure itself," Tyus said in an e-mail to Maulding.

Wendy Morthland, corporate counsel for the city, said the city council has made the situation at the apartment building a top priority.

"As soon as we can file a petition for contempt (against Scott), we will do so," Morthland said. "If the judge feels that the owner has not abated, he has the ability to order him to jail, as well as other remedies."

Jim Dodd, whose property borders the apartment building, said the council isn't doing enough.

"Nothing's going to be done until the city council decides they want to do something," Dodd said.

Crumble said much of the crime that goes on at the building is committed by people who live elsewhere.

"The people who don't live here bring problems here, and they get people involved in confrontations," Crumble said.

In his latest e-mails to the city council, Maulding has urged the property be vacated and torn down, and that the city work more diligently to fine Scott for all building violations.

"What's bad is the people that live here that are honest," Dodd said of the apartment building. "They're afraid to go out."

Kenneth Lowe can be reached at klowe@herald-review.com or 421-7985.