Kylie Marsh | The Charlotte Post
Charlotte residents frustrated with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police handling of a series of confrontations between neighbors in the Grove Park neighborhood demanded answers at the Nov. 25 City Council meeting.
Supporters of Jay Walker addressed council during the public forum about continuous harassment of Walker by his neighbor, Richard Eury. Walker is Black. Eury is white.
Jay Walker, who has faced harassment from Eury over the last five years, was given a standing ovation when his allotted two minutes. Supporters chanted “let him speak.”
“I was told not to call this person out by name,” Walker said. “Their initials are M.M., like M&Ms. I used to like M&M’s, but I don’t anymore,” he said.
Grove Park is in District 5 where Marjorie Molina is the council representative.
Walker supporters, Black and white, told council that Eury has taken photos of children and women in front of his house on Linda Lake Drive; issued verbal threats, brandished weapons, and even listed past charges against Eury, which were later dismissed. An audio recording obtained by QCity Nerve reported Eury called CMPD threatening to shoot Walker.
Mayor Vi Lyles asked Assistant City Manager Shawn Heath to meet with Walker, who was also accompanied by attorney Tim Emry.
Police have previously stated nothing can be done by law enforcement unless a crime has been committed, or at the very least, Walker files a police report. Police also said Walker and Eury have refused mediation.
“I’m tired of being quiet,” Walker said. “You’re waiting until a crime is committed.”
Terry Bradley, executive director of Charlotte Community Relations Board, and Assistant City Manager Monica Allen asked for more information and said they’d work on strategizing for possible solutions.
Police records show Eury has made more than 60 calls since 2021 alleging threats by Walker.
Marta Vanessa, a community organizer, told The Post that there has been no follow-up on the case since 2021, when Mecklenburg County Community Relations Committee determined the dispute was “confrontational, but not criminal.” Vanessa also said that every time she speaks with police about the interactions between Walker and Eury, the response is “It’s just a dispute between neighbors.”
Residents at the Lamplighter Inn west Charlotte, addressed council about “inhumane conditions” at the hotel, which houses nearly 70 homeless people, including families with children, elderly and disabled people. Hotel management have turned off utilities in recent weeks without explanation.
Lamplighter Inn, located at Eddleman Road, is owned by Comodo Care LLC and operated by Chandreshkumar Patel. The motel has poor ratings from online reviews.
“We’re not bad people,” Lamplighter Inn resident Shanice Williams said. “We work hard. We’ve just hit an obstacle that’s hard to get over,” Shanice Williams said.
“We do not think you’re bad people,” Lyles said. “Please give us time to work on solutions.”
Said Williams: “We don’t want to just move from hotel to hotel. We want a permanent solution.”
