'Please help us': Partying frat driving neighbors crazy

• Neighbors say residence-turned-frat house is disrupting the neighborhood
• Frat house has frequent parties in the once quiet neighborhood
• Residents can't find parking, sometimes blocked out of driveways
• Lawsuit against fraternity still in court

There's a beer keg sitting about 10 feet from the door. But don't call it a frat house. It's a rental house where frat members live. 

While that distinction is important to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Jackson State University, it's not to those tired of dealing with the partying and crowded streets in the middle of their south Jackson neighborhood.

"Our neighborhood is turning into a frat house. It wasn't like this before. It just doesn't belong in our community," Deborah McDaniel told Jackson City Council members at an April 16 meeting.

The complaints, which some council members were already familiar with, are intensifying at the same time a lawsuit against the fraternity over a shooting that occurred during a block party at a previous residence is making its way through the courts.

McDaniel was joined by her husband, the Rev. Wayne McDaniel, head of the Jackson-based NAACP, and several other neighbors who said members of the fraternity, who refer to themselves as "Que Dogs," frequently disrupt the peace with loud music and partying, especially on the weekends.

They said they have had difficulty finding parking or getting into their driveways due to the overflow of vehicles parked at and around the residence at 1771 Casteel Drive, just north of Raymond Road.

Wayne McDaniel told council members that he has had frequent run-ins with house occupants.

He said he has seen young women coming out of the house "buck naked" and said neighbors often have to clean up the mess left behind from the partying, which has included discarded underwear. 

He said a pitbull belonging to frat members wanders the neighborhood without a leash and has attacked "at least two" residents, forcing neighbors to stay indoors. 

They said the disruptive behavior, which they've complained about before, has been going on for a couple years now, and they are concerned it'll increase as the weather warms up and summer begins. 

Longtime resident Fran Camper, who lives across the street from the house, pleaded  for help. 

"Why should we tolerate all of this? We need something done. Please help us," she said. 

The house is owned by the real estate firm Improving Jackson Trust 8, according to the Hinds County land roll. Neighbors indicated at the council meeting that they had shared their complaints with Walter Wofford, who previously owned the property. Wofford said Tuesday it is now owned by a property manager from out of state, although he didn't say who that is. 

More aggressive JPD presence 

In response to the latest complaints, Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps said he would request additional police presence to monitor the residence.

"I think the short-term solution is to aggressively police it, for the police to be actively engaged on this," Stamps said.

The councilman said he understands college students blowing off steam, just not in a residential community. 

"They're doing all the stuff you normally do at most colleges, but it's just not appropriate in the middle of a neighborhood," he said.

Councilman Charles Tillman, whose ward the house is in, said he's gotten frequent complaints about the house occupants.

"We called it a party house the first time. We didn't know it was a frat house at the time.

"You have people working day and night and they can't even get home because the road is blocked. Maybe someday, something will happen soon," he said. 

What is the responsibility of JSU, Omega Psi Phi?

Jackson State University spokesman L.A. Warren said that since JSU doesn’t have university-approved housing for fraternities and sororities and the residence is located about three miles off campus, the matter is one for the community to resolve.

The university's director of student engagement and leadership, Damian D. Thomas, referred the matter to the university's legal department, which did not respond for comment. 

The Omega Psi Phi fraternity, founded in 1911, has more than 750 graduate and undergraduate chapters across the globe, according to its website. It lists "manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift" as its core principles.

James Cistrunk, the fraternity's regional representative, said he has been contacted about the Jackson fraternity more than once.

"We don't normally govern how they run their house, but if it's a continuous situation, it's something we need to look at," he said. 

"We've talked to them before, but it looks like it didn't sink in. That's unfortunate." 

He said the behavior of a few doesn't represent that of a majority of the Omega Psi Phi members, who he said are generally community-service minded.  

Cistrunk also took issue with comments characterizing the house being rented as a frat house. He said the fraternity has no connection to the property. 

Lawsuit against Omega Psi Phi 

Before renting the house on Casteel Drive, fraternity members had been renting a house at 221 Lorenz Blvd.

It was during this time that Moral Abrams was shot in the leg at a block party he said was hosted and promoted by members of the fraternity. His lawsuit says Omega Psi Phi should be held accountable for the conditions that led to the shooting.  

The lawsuit, filed last summer, states that the members of the fraternity should have known that hosting unsupervised, open-invitation events without adequate security, where alcohol was present, was a direct violation of Jackson State University's rules and represented a serious hazard and danger to others. 

The lawsuit also says the fraternity provided alcoholic beverages to people in attendance at the party and members walked around the party with alcoholic beverages in hand, asking those in attendance to lean their heads so they could pour liquor into their mouths.

The Georgia-based fraternity is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, pointing out the shooter was not a member of the fraternity and arguing that the fraternity can’t be held liable for an unsanctioned or unauthorized event.

Abram’s attorney, Elizabeth Carr, said her office is waiting on an order from the judge to decide whether the case should be tried in federal or state court. 

Contact Justin Vicory at 769-572-1418 or jvicory@gannett.com. Follow @justinvicory on Twitter.

More:City of Madison to residents: Clean up your property or you could end up in court

More:Neighborhoods could vote to make own improvements. But they would come at a cost.