Sacramento Apartment Complex Deemed A Nuisance Demolished

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A dilapidated apartment complex on Martin Luther King Boulevard will be reduced to rubble by the end of the Friday following a lawsuit filed by the Justice for Neighbors program.

Sacramento Superior Court declared the 15-unit complex a public nuisance and ordered the owner tear it down, so crews started knocking down walls before 10 a.m. Friday.

There was no big countdown or dynamite explosion, just some heavy construction equipment and strategically placed crews scattered around the property.

"It's pretty meticulous," said Gus Barone, who is part of the demolition crew. "It's about bringing in the big excavator like the one over there and getting it down to the ground.  Then it's all about loading it up after that."

As part of the lawsuit, the owner had to shovel out $90,000 in demolition costs and another $30,000 in city fines.

The Justice for Neighbors organization says they will continue to target drug, gang and public safety threats around the city.

Officials say cleansing the city will free up valuable resources, like police and fire.

So far, the group has collected about $750,000 in fines.