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Tenant questions Perkins Rowe security measures following Sunday attack

2 years 5 months 2 weeks ago Tuesday, April 19 2022 Apr 19, 2022 April 19, 2022 6:51 PM April 19, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A man in jail for randomly kidnapping a woman and assaulting her at Perkins Rowe has a checkered past going back decades.

Leon Curry is in jail, charged with sexual battery, kidnapping, and stealing a car after the crime spree at a shopping center Sunday.

Now there's fear among shoppers and residents at Perkins Rowe who say things could have been worse and more needs to be done to keep the area secure moving forward.

A Perkins Rowe tenant, who does not want to be identified, has been sharing his maintenance and security concerns with 2 On Your Side for the last couple of months. He says the area is supposed to be secure, but lately, it's not how he feels walking around at night.

"You've got retirees that live here, you've got young women that live by themselves that go to LSU, Southern," he said. "You've got shopping and then if you park in a garage that's covered, it's pretty dark. It doesn't feel as safe as it should."

Perkins Rowe is an area in Baton Rouge with a movie theater, restaurants, and shops. It attracts a lot of visitors and with all those people, this tenant thinks more should be done to protect the people living there and visiting. He questions whether or not there was a security guard at all at the movie theater parking garage the night the attack happened.

"You hardly ever see a security person and if you do, they're not very intimidating," he said.

While on the property Tuesday, 2 On Your Side saw a single security officer drive by on a golf cart three times. The tenant said he rarely sees security late at night. The green space within Perkins Rowe has a sign posted letting visitors know about a curfew in place.

"There's rules but they're not followed," he said.

The area has security cameras, lighting, and residential parking has parking gates. Lately, the tenant says there have been issues with lights being out and gates left open.

He says that one of the gates leading to a tenant parking garage has had an issue for the last four months. It was left open for weeks and now leaves a large gap at the bottom when closed.

It's those things that worry him.

"I was not impressed, but I wasn't concerned with security," he said. "Now I'm concerned."

He also says that the property management company, Property One, sends out "Red Flag" emails to alert residents about issues happening at the property. A "Red Flag" alert was not and has not been sent out following Sunday's incident.

Perkins Rowe is a Trademark Property. They tell WBRZ that it does not discuss specific security protocols to not compromise its overall security efforts. Perkins Rowe says it's always adjusting protocols to make sure everyone who visits the property feels safe and that the safety of its customers, residents, and retailers is its top priority.

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