Shreveport Landlord Found Not Guilty of Criminal Charges
Shreveport City Court Judge Brittany Arvie ruled on Friday, that the City of Shreveport can't follow through on criminal charges brought against the owner of Amar Shreveprot Holdings LLC.
Shreveport Properties In Poor Condition
For months the City has attempted to bring Yacov Smouha, owner of Amar Shreveport Holdings, to court on criminal blight charges. Amar Shreveport Holdings owns notorious properties in town such as Villa Norte Apartments, Pine Apartments, and Linwood Homes, the last of which was placed under an emergency declaration as Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux ordered a public health and safety emergency for the apartments in June.
In early May of this year, residents of Amar Shreveport's Villa Norte Apartments had no hot water and were ordered to move out of their units, and by the end of the month, all had been forced to vacate the properties.
In June firefighters were alerted to a fire at Pine Apartments allegedly started by squatters in empty units. Later in June, the Shreveport Fire Department published a statement shedding light on several fires at vacant apartment units across the city, including Amar Shreveport Holdings properties like Villa Norte and Pines.
The City of Shreveport's Involvement
In August the City of Shreveport filed a lawsuit against Amar Shreveport Holdings LLC which owed over $360,000 in water bills. The Owners of legal representatives of Amar Shreveport Holdings were to appear in court in August. Still, they had to be pushed back after the company's legal representative filed for a continuation for several reasons.
The continuation was granted and a representative of the LLC appeared in court on September 19th. The court appearance would be inconclusive as a date was set for the next hearing so attorneys had time to submit arguments about whether Yacov Smouha would face criminal charges as the owner of Amar Shreveport Holdings LLC.
The last hearing in the ongoing case was on September 27th where it was decided by the Judge that Yacov Smouha would not face any charges as an individual. Insteda Amar Shreveport Holdings LLC will be held responsible as the company itself is on trial.