Neighbors believe the bullet holes in a Wagner Avenue home are the culmination of ongoing alleged criminal activity in the neighborhood.

There are about a dozen houses lining the east side of the 300-block of the narrow avenue between Broad and Chestnut streets.

Those homes are up against the street and have only a few feet separating one another.

They used to represent a close-knit community on the block, according to longtime residents, but high profile arrests last month have left many of those living there uneasy.

“I'm afraid to go outside,” said a woman who lives next door to the home that was the site of the commotion. “This used to be a nice neighborhood. Everyone knew one another.”

House draws notice

On the evening of Nov. 17, a Pittsburgh man allegedly fired eight rounds from a 9 mm pistol into the house at 313 Wagner Ave.

Two of those shots hit the home of the woman who lives next-door, who did not want to give her name.

The two people in the targeted home at the time of the shooting were not injured. The suspect, 30-year-old Joshua McKenzie, was arrested a week later in eastern Ohio on aggravated assault and other gun charges.

Just days after the shooting, police arrested a Philadelphia man wanted on multiple felony drug charges in the same bullet-riddled home after they went there with an arrest warrant for another man facing drug charges.

Police said that 25-year-old man, Anthony L. Williams, attempted to hide in a crawl space when police were searching the home for Chad Undercuffler, 23, of Fenelton, who investigators believe was staying in the home.

Undercuffler still is wanted on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and providing false identification to law enforcement following an incident in the city in June as well as felony forgery charges for a separate case in Center Township.

Earlier this month another resident of the home, Kenneth Roberson, 59, was in court for sentencing after he was convicted of operating a volatile mobile meth lab elsewhere in the city.

Roberson, who had his sentencing delayed for medical reasons, told the judge he was not aware of the recent drug activity in the home and that he moved to a different Wagner Avenue house as soon as he learned of the issues.

Changed neighborhood

While the sound of the firearm going off that night caught residents by surprise, many said there was no shock that the incident was at what they called a nuisance home.

The next-door neighbor, who has owned her home for 16 years, said she has seen the drug problem in the neighborhood develop over the years.

She said residents on the block used to sit outside and have barbecues together. Now, she said, the criminal activity at a few houses has left the neighborhood fractured.

An elderly woman, who lives a few houses away from that house, said she and her husband have lived on the block for years, and agreed about its past.

“When I was younger, it was a nice neighborhood,” she said. “But now too many people have (drugs). It's getting worse, not better. We just shut the door and keep to ourselves.”

Checks and balances

Mayor Tom Donaldson said landlords need to be responsible when finding prospective tenants.

“Landlords need to be diligent and do background checks,” he said. “They need to look up their criminal history.”

City police said landlords can face fines if their property has too many police calls to it for disruptive activities.

City code states that the owner can be fined up to $500 if people on the property have either been arrested or cited on three occasions in 60 days.

The landlord is given 15 days to develop corrective action before being cited. Capt. David Dalcamo said the landlords always comply with the notice.

“In each case we've had, the landlord has rectified the problem,” he said, adding the legal notice from police gives property owners a tool to fight tenants in court.

But Dalcamo noted that a drawback to the ordinance is that often police are called to incidents that occur on the street outside of a house.

The owners of the property where the shooting occurred are John and Tracey Saul of Center Township. They were not cited following the shooting, police said.

They could not be reached for comment.

Dalcamo said many landlords take steps to be proactive in not having criminal activity in their properties.

“Many landlords will search the online web dockets and do credit history checks,” he said.

He added some landlords also know one another through landlord associations.

“They're able to talk to each other about tenants who get bounced around,” he said.

Crime still remains

Wagner Avenue residents said there is a good police presence on their block, but said that hasn't eliminated the crime.

Multiple drug-related arrests, an assault and a reported robbery occurred on Wagner in the past couple years. A traffic stop in April 2014 netted dozens of bags of heroin and hundreds of dollars of suspected drug money.

The elderly woman said she was happy when she heard of McKenzie's arrest.

“That's one less we have to worry about,” she said.

A woman who lives in the 300 block of Broad Street, which is parallel to Wagner, said she frequently sees many people coming and going at the house at 313 Wagner Ave.

“They'll pull up and park on our street, right in front of my house,” she said. “They'll park here, then walk back there so they don't have to park on Wagner. They'll be there for a couple minutes and then will get back in the car and leave.”

That woman said she still feels safe in the neighborhood because of police and her other neighbors, but she didn't want to give her name for fear of “retaliation.”

“Right now, it's still a nice street and a nice neighborhood,” she said. “We watch out for each other. I just hope they get rid of that house.”

'Fight is constant'

Donaldson said officials and police are attempting to clean up each of the city's neighborhoods. He noted that drug problems are not limited to one section of the city.

“It's not something that is going to change overnight because it didn't happen overnight,” he said. “The fight is constant. We're working to be more proactive but it takes time.”

The mayor said residents can be helpful to police in reporting suspicious activity.

“Be vigilant and be patient,” he said. “If you see something suspicious, call police or the city, and write down the license plate.”

Deputy Chief David Adam agreed criminal activity is not limited to the avenue.

“Crime can happen anywhere,” he said.

Adam said the city's officers drive by Wagner Avenue on patrols. He noted that each area of the city is treated equally with enforcement.

“It's something where we have to use our discretion,” he said. “But we patrol every part of the city.”