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WILKES-BARRE — Residents in a 14-unit apartment building on South Grant Street need a new place to live. 

The City Code Enforcement Office condemned 390 S. Grant St., at the corner of Dana Street, on Wednesday. A placard taped to the front door says the eviction was due to “No Inspections.”

A woman helping her niece remove belongings from the building said everyone had to get out by 5 p.m. She said the building manager told tenants everything will be straightened out and requested those being evicted not talk to the media.

Several people were seen removing items from the building and packing vehicles, some with New York plates.

Code Enforcement Director Dan Kratz could not be immediately reached for comment.

Police were on scene as the building was being inspected and condemned. Officers ran background checks on several people, including those with New York ID cards and driver’s licenses.

The building was the last known address for Elijah Jones, 21, Genrie Smith, 22, and Colin King, 20, who police say are linked to the recent spate of shootings in the city.

Jones and Smith have eluded capture. King was arrested March 12 and remains jailed on drug charges.

Nigel DeShawn Velardo, 22, also known as “Tay,” listed 390 S. Grant St. as one of his addresses. Velardo was captured in a raid at 127 Academy St., Wilkes-Barre, on March 8.

After Velardo’s arrest, authorities searched an apartment at 390 S. Grant St., finding a cache of firearms, ammunition and packaged and raw heroin and fentanyl, court records say.

Property records list the owner of 390 S. Grant St. as Jasdeep Singh and Prabhjot and Harbhajan Kaur.

An ordinance requires landlords to register their properties and to have a city-coordinated inspection every time a new tenant moves into a rental unit.

This is the condemnation notice attached to the apartment building at 390 S. Grant St. in Wilkes-Barre.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Grant-St-WB-apartment-building-2-4.jpg.optimal.jpgThis is the condemnation notice attached to the apartment building at 390 S. Grant St. in Wilkes-Barre. Ed Lewis | Times Leader

Residents at this 14-unit apartment building on South Grant Street at Dana Street were evicted Wednesday after Wilkes-Barre’s Code Enforcement Office condemned the building.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040419raid1-2.jpg.optimal.jpgResidents at this 14-unit apartment building on South Grant Street at Dana Street were evicted Wednesday after Wilkes-Barre’s Code Enforcement Office condemned the building. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

By Ed Lewis

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