Collis Temple being called by WBRZ for being a slumlord

Blind Baton Rouge tenant living without water, electricity; two men hope to shine light on conditions
BATON ROUGE - After finding a tenant living in filth, two men are doing what they can to help. They contacted 2 On Your Side hoping to highlight a man's horrific living conditions and the landlord who hasn't done any maintenance.

The man has been living in a house on East Boulevard for at least 20 years. It has no running water and minimal electricity. He doesn't want to be identified but says he hasn't taken a shower in a year, which is how long he's been in a wheelchair. Even though he's unable to walk up and down stairs, when he leaves the house to get food he tosses his wheelchair down the front steps and scoots down. Then he has to retrieve his wheelchair. It can be difficult at times not because of his inability to walk, but because he can't see.

Dru Ingram found him outside St. Agnes church three months ago struggling to push his wheelchair up a hill. He had been trying to get to Sonic for a meal.

"No one's looking out for him," Ingram said.

Ingram helped him to Sonic and brought him back home. Ingram noticed the outside of the house looked to be rotting and boarded up in several places. Inside, trash littered the floor and it smelled like a toilet. Ingram's friend Richard Mahoney got involved, helping to clean up the house and secure the man a bed and a commode.

The house is in rough shape. The bathroom toilet is broken, the kitchen sink has fallen to the floor, trash, and old furniture is stacked in a bedroom, and part of the floor is missing. The tenant says a pipe burst during a cold snap several years ago and the landlord never made repairs.

According to the East Baton Rouge Tax Assessor's office, the property is one of 50 Baton Rouge properties owned by Collis Temple. Temple did not return calls on Thursday.

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