Tenants Charged in Senior Citizen Drug, Prostitution Sting Forced Out

The Tibbs Senior Citizen Building tenants who allegedly turned their apartments into a prostitution and crack den have been forced out of the complex, Englewood Housing Authority executive director Maria Iwano said.

Fifth-floor neighbors James Parham and Cheryl Chaney, who face drug and nuisance charges will both be gone by the end of next month, Iwano said.

Parham, who pleaded not guilty in municipal court last week, was already on his way out before the arrest, Iwano said. He was officially booted from the building Friday for defaulting on a rent payment plan.

"Mr. Parham was not locked out as a result of this incident," Iwano said. "We were in court before with Mr. Parham on another issue, coincidentally this happened and so the lockout came much sooner for him."

Chaney, who was recently served a notice that the housing authority would be taking possession of her apartment, voluntarily agreed to leave by June 30, board attorney Terrence Corriston said.

The housing authority board enacted a policy in April that allows it to bar individuals suspected of trespassing in the building following concerns raised in March that drunks and unwanted guests were roaming the complex.

"They have to be served first," Iwano said of would-be trespassers. "Once they’re served, if they’re seen in or around the property they can be arrested. The names are on a list and the police department has a list of those names of those people who are not allowed in here."

Housing authority chairman Ira Dermansky said the unwanted activity in the building had ceased after Parham and Chaney were arrested and that he did not expect it to resurface.

"It seems to have calmed down completely here, so it’s almost like, ‘Wow, it’s only about two people that this is all about," he said Monday. "It sounds a lot worse than it really was, in my opinion."

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