Toco Hills man refuses to remove offensive signs from yard
Posted: Jul 13, 2017 11:45 PM EDTUpdated: Jul 13, 2017 11:56 PM EDT
People living in a DeKalb County neighborhood say they have been terrorized for years. It's an upscale area in Toco Hills, only about a mile from the CDC and two miles from Emory University.
The problem: a neighbor who stands on the sidewalk screaming at passing cars and fills his yard with offensive signs.
CBS46 first reported about this ongoing neighborhood saga in January.
Since then, neighbors tell us it has only gotten worse. The man behind the display has even been jailed, but it is not stopping.
James Avery is out on the sidewalk in front of his home on Mason Mill Road yelling at anyone who passes by nearly every day. If he isn’t outside, his front yard display continues to convey his controversial thoughts about God, gays and religious groups.
“He started about four or five years ago, just kind of slowly escalated and has gotten worse and worse,” stated neighbor Eric Benjamin.
“We call the police and the police won’t do anything about it,” added neighbor Charles Bliss.
Now, many neighbors also have signs in their front yards -- for sale signs.
Bliss says he's tried to move. He even had a signed contract, but the buyer backed out.
“The relator wrote us a letter stating that it was solely due to the neighbor...I feel very trapped,” Bliss told CBS46.
“There’s no reasoning with him,” Benjamin added.
CBS46 went directly to the source. Avery spoke to us about all sorts of things.
“I lean so far left in my political views, I even make the progressive liberals nervous, so I don’t know what I am, maybe a dead man walking, same as Jesus,” Avery stated.
We questioned him for 20 minutes. Much of what he said was hard to follow, perhaps due to his admitted use of crystal meth. Avery did make one thing clear -- his yards signs are there for one reason.
“They are meant to provoke discussion,” Avery stated.
After our first report in January, Avery was jailed for having too many signs in his yard. Now he only displays four at a time, which is within DeKalb County code.
CBS46 wanted to know about the content. Do the profane words on the signs break any laws?
We spoke with DeKalb County officials. They assured us inspectors are looking into it and plan on going to the property once again. Stay with CBS46 to keep you updated on what happens.
Copyright 2017 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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