Yet another noise citation was issued Oct. 23 at a Buckhead mansion that is the target of controversy and legal action over event rentals. The noise complaint came a day after an arrest warrant was issued for the Garmon Road mansion’s operator for failing to appear in court on several other citations.
Olutosin O. “Tosin” Oduwole, the mansion operator, is also scheduled to appear in Fulton County Superior Court on Oct. 25, where the city will seek a restraining order to stop him from holding the next publicized event, described as a bridal show.
Formerly owned by star musician Kenny Rogers, the mansion at 4499 Garmon Road drew the city’s attention last year for a string of massive parties, which ended late in the year with a $1,000 zoning violation fine imposed upon a woman who claimed to be the property’s new owner. However, Oduwole began advertising the mansion for event rentals again this year and parties resumed this summer, leading to a new series of citations.
In the Oct. 23 incident, the Atlanta Police Department said, officers were dispatched to the mansion on a noise complaint and heard loud music. According to police, a security guard identified as Thaddeus Tigner was standing behind the mansion’s locked gate. The officers cited Tigner for a noise violation because he appeared to be the only person with controlled access to the property, police said. According to a written report from the police department, “the security guard stated he did not know who owned the property and that it was occupied by family.”
According to court records, Oduwole faces a variety of citations alleging disorderly conduction, violations of zoning code and the noise ordinance, and interfering with or damaging city water system devices. On Oct. 21, he was scheduled to go to trial in Municipal Court on some of those charges, but failed to appear, leading to an arrest warrant being issued the next day. Oduwole previously said at least some of the charges are unfounded and later demanded that the Reporter cease writing about him.
During another city court hearing Oct. 21, Clifton Lacour, who served as a security guard at one of the mansion’s events, was fined $1,000 for a noise ordinance violation and put on probation on the condition he cooperates with prosecutors, according to court records and City Councilmember J.P. Matzigkeit, who attended the hearing.
Still in the works as another response to the mansion’s controversy is legislation tightening restrictions on “party houses,” which has been promoted by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Matzigkeit.