Slumlord to do time in Richmond rental home

Convicted slumlord Oliver C. Lawrence will get to experience life in the Richmond City Jail and one of his own neglected rental properties.

A deputy escorted Lawrence in handcuffs from Richmond General District Court yesterday after Judge Phillip L. Hairston modified the terms of Lawrence's 70-day sentence on more than 180 convictions on propertymaintenance violations.

Lawrence is to report to jail today to serve the first 30 days of his sentence. After that, he'll spend 40 days in home incarceration with electronic monitoring at a small, single-story house owned by his company, Bayou Properties.

Until recent improvements, the East End house at 1429 N. 19th St. was unsecured and had a smashed-out window, and its shed was littered with needles, other drug paraphernalia and feces, according to a city inspector.

L. Wendell Allen, an attorney for Lawrence, had no comment after the hearing, during which Hairston also rejected a request that Lawrence be allowed to serve his 70 days on a more-lenient work-release program so he could fix up his properties.

Assistant City Attorney Greg Lukanuski, who handled the prosecution, supported home incarceration on the condition that the city could approve the property. Lawrence also has a $1 million house in Ashland.

At a hearing last week, the city recommended two houses, in Church Hill North and Blackwell, that are owned by Lawrence's company. Lawrence's attorneys offered the alternate location yesterday.

Home incarceration is appropriate because it means one fewer vacant property in the city that could attract drug activity and other crime, Lukanuski said. He also is hoping it will persuade owners of other blighted properties to make improvements, realizing they could be compelled to live in them someday.

Lawrence also is being assigned to a sheriff's work crew that cleans up neglected properties from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

City officials have been fighting with Lawrence over the condition of his properties for more than two years. He owns 150 to 300 properties, according to city estimates. In 2007, the city cited 175 violations on Lawrence's buildings, including some in the 300 block of West Broad Street and the 200 block of East Grace Street that had been heavily damaged by suspicious fires.

Lawrence's troubles aren't likely to end with his release in 70 days. His sentence also includes fines of more than $177,000. Plus, city inspectors are promising to keep the pressure on him.

"As long as he still owns property and they're not up to code, we will still continue to issue notices of violation on them," said John Whealton, a city property inspector.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .