Senior Citizen Is Arrested For Property Maintenance Violation

Vol. III, No, 223 - A series of events leads to a most unfortunate situation for a ninety-year old

Writing a daily newsletter that reaches more than 2,500 readers everyday carries a special responsibility. The words sent out each morning have the power to shape how people understand the place where they live. That kind of responsibility demands humility. The stories told here should help us think more carefully about our community, not tear anyone down in the process.

This publication has never aimed to take cheap shots or assign unnecessary blame; we have always advocated for responsibility and accountability, not character assassination. The goal has always been to focus on ideas—the systems, decisions, and values that shape civic life—rather than the personalities behind them. In every edition, the hope is to make it easier for people in our community to understand how decisions are made and how they affect our shared future. If that understanding also leads to more civil conversation, then the work is worthwhile.

Still, some stories weigh heavier than others. There are days when a topic lands and I question whether I’m the right person to tell it. I’ve often said that the next journalism class I take will be my first. I’m not a trained reporter—just someone who observes, thinks deeply about what he sees, and tries to provide some sense of why it matters. That’s not an excuse; it’s the truth. And today’s story tests that truth in a very raw way.

Because this story isn’t just difficult—it’s heartbreaking. Earlier this week, a ninety-year-old man was arrested in a grocery store parking lot in Troy. His alleged crime? A property maintenance violation.

After speaking with several people familiar with the situation, what first seemed unbelievable turned out to be true. This wasn’t the result of one glaring mistake but of a chain of small decisions that, together, led a senior citizen into police custody.

From what records are available, the story began on November 5th. The City of Troy’s Planning and Zoning Office filed charges against the man for violating the city’s Property Maintenance Code—a third-degree misdemeanor. A summons was sent to the address of the property he used to own. It appears he never saw that notification. When he didn’t appear in court, a bench warrant was issued on December 11th.

This past week, a Flock safety camera flagged his vehicle as he drove down West Main Street. Police were notified of the open warrant, located him in a grovery store parking lot, and made the arrest. After spending several hours in custody, he was brought before a judge. The property maintenance charges were dismissed. To complicate matters further, the property in question had been sold weeks earlier, and repairs had reportedly been completed before the court date.

I’ve filed public records requests to fill in the remaining gaps in the timeline. As of this writing, not all those requests have been fulfilled, but there’s enough known to ask deeper questions about how property maintenance codes are enforced—and what happens when those systems intersect with human frailty and error.

Should property maintenance issues be treated as criminal matters at all? Many communities have chosen to handle these as civil violations—more like a parking ticket than a misdemeanor offense. That kind of approach focuses on compliance and correction rather than punishment. It’s worth asking if Troy should move in that direction too.

And what about the role of Flock cameras? There’s no question that these cameras have helped police solve crimes and make the community safer. The department has often shared examples of arrests made possible through the technology. But should the same system also be used to arrest a ninety-year-old over a property code violation? At what point does the benefit to public safety cross over into surveillance that harms the very neighbors it’s meant to protect?

Perhaps no one involved did anything wrong. Each person—from city staff to law enforcement—may have acted exactly as the polices and procedures require. But if following the rules still leads to a ninety-year-old man in handcuffs over a code violation, then maybe the rules themselves deserve scrutiny.

There’s no need for outrage here, but there is a deep need for reflection. If civic life means anything, it means being willing to ask whether our systems still serve us as they should. A single arrest like this one might not change the entire community—but how we respond to it could say a lot about what kind of community we want to be.

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