A Juneau man is facing six misdemeanor counts of maintaining a nuisance property, failure to close a building, and not using a public sewer.
Seventy-one-year-old Ronald W. Hohman was arraigned in Juneau District Court this afternoon (Friday) after being arrested by police earlier in the day.
City Prosecutor August Petropulos told Judge Tom Nave that neighbors have complained that Hohman’s Nowell Avenue house is unsafe to occupy, and that sewage from the property is overflowing onto the street.
Hohman’s attorney, Deborah Holbrook, said her client did not know why he was being arrested and booked at Lemon Creek Correctional Center this morning. She also said the sewage can’t be from his house, because the city shut off his water and sewer for not paying the bill late last fall.
Hohman was released on $250 bail, which he posted earlier in the day.
Judge Nave barred him from the house except between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to make repairs.
Hohman’s next court appearance was scheduled for April 2nd, with a jury trial to begin April 10th, though a plea agreement is possible before then. If convicted, he faces a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail for each of the six misdemeanor counts, according to JPD Spokeswoman Cindee Brown-Mills.
Petropulos and CBJ Building Inspector Charlie Ford declined to discuss the case.
It’s not the first time Hohman has been in trouble for activity at the property. In July 2000 he was convicted of two misdemeanors after being charged with five violations of the city’s building, housing and zoning codes. In that case he was sentenced to one year of probation, a $3,000 fine, and 150 hours of community service.
