Slumlord Sentenced to Live in Own Filth

One house had a shed littered with needles and feces

By ASHA BEH

Updated 9:15 AM EDT, Tue, Nov 10, 2009

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A landlord who left several of his properties to rot is going to learn what it's like living in filth.

Oliver C. Lawrence is reporting to jail today to serve the first 30 days of his sentence for more than 180 convictions on property maintenance violations.

Then he'll get 40 days living in a house that had a smashed-out window, no locks and a shed littered with needles and feces.

The small, single-story house in Richmond was only recently made liveable so the city could approve the property, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Compared to the violations Lawrence has been building up for more than two years, including homes that had been heavily damaged by suspicious fires, it might not seem like much.

But wait, there's more...

Lawrence, who owns 150 to 300 properties and has a $1 million home in Ashton, has also been assigned to a sheriff's work crew that cleans up neglected properties during the week.

In addition, his sentence from Judge Phillip L. Hairston includes a $177,000 fine.

After all that, Lawrence will still have to deal with city officials, who say they'll continue to issue notices of violations on any properties that aren't up to code.