ARMOUR, S.D. – Businessman Dudley Schroeder was convicted of a crime and spent two days in jail. The infraction? His downtown auto shop was declared a nuisance property and he didn’t clean it up as ordered by a judge.
Schroeder’s transmission repair service is located on U.S. 281 on the southern end of this small town 45 miles southwest of Mitchell. City leaders said they had tried for many years and attempted far less invasive methods to get him to clean it up before resorting to legal action. After multiple legal proceedings, a judge ordered Schroeder to be jailed for two days in late 2023.
Unless Schroeder, 65, removes the vehicles, old transmissions and other debris that have accumulated in the front of his business and on the 1.5 acres behind the building, he could spend 28 more days in jail due to his October 2022 public nuisance conviction. The city also filed a civil lawsuit in May that could require the property to be forcibly cleaned up and Schroeder assessed for the cost and court fees.
“It’s been a nightmare,” Schroeder told News Watch.
The legal cases in Armour are a small sample of how property code enforcement remains a point of contention in many small towns and cities across South Dakota. The disputes often pit property owners seeking to assert their rights against municipal officials trying to spruce up struggling communities trying to attract new residents and commerce.
Advocates for stricter code enforcement said poorly kept properties located within municipal boundaries can draw rodents, reduce neighboring property values and lead to lower community standards that allow others to let their properties deteriorate.
But as News Watch reported in July, code enforcement crackdowns can go awry in some communities, such as in Faith, where residents became so angry that the city council rescinded a new, stricter code enforcement plan.
Schroeder said cleaning up has been challenging as he battles health conditions including prostate cancer, meningitis and long-COVID, which he said he contracted while in jail.
Schroeder said his illnesses have sapped his strength and left him with more than $250,000 in medical debt. The code enforcement cases have cost him more than $20,000 in legal fees, and he said some former clients no longer want to do business with him.
However, the city attorney for Armour said a county judge felt he had no choice other than to throw Schroeder in jail because all other legal options were exhausted.
‘Extreme eyesore’ for years
Attorney Mike Fink, who serves as prosecutor in the criminal and civil cases against Schroeder, said Schroeder was given multiple opportunities to clean up his property long before being charged and well after being convicted.
“It was an extreme eyesore for many years, and it’s only after all other efforts have proven fruitless that I got involved,” Fink said.
Armour city ordinances passed in 2010 prohibit nuisances and refer to South Dakota Statute 9-19-3 that allows for fines of up to $500 or imprisonment up to 30 days for violating a municipal ordinances that are considered Class 2 misdemeanors.
Fink said it is a “very rare occasion” in which someone convicted of a nuisance property charge ends up in jail.
“The judge basically put him on probation and said, ‘If you clean the place up, you don’t have to do any jail time,'” Fink said.
Schroeder and his family members said city officials in Armour and the legal system in Douglas County have gone too far by using criminal laws and the threat of jail time to push Schroeder to bring his property up to code.
“It’s an older place, an old gas station when he bought it, used for mechanic work, and I think he has done things to clean it up,” said Marci Schroeder, Dudley Schroeder’s sister, who lives in Las Vegas. “He is a reasonable guy, a good guy, but they want his place to be all tulips and rainbows.”
Mayor: Many attempts to encourage cleaning
In an interview with News Watch, Armour Mayor Travis Sparks said city leaders have tried for more than a decade to encourage Schroeder to clean up the property.
“It’s been going on for at least 15 years,” Sparks said. “He didn’t want to work with us, so we ended up going the legal route.”
Sparks said Schroeder is not the only resident of Armour who has been warned over code enforcement violations. He said the city of about 700 people contracts with an independent code enforcement firm to uphold city ordinances because the city wants to portray a positive image to both existing and potential residents or employers.
“It comes down to aesthetics,” Sparks said. “When people drive through town and see dilapidated buildings or properties with junk all over them, they’re not going to want to stop or do any business in the town.”
Fink said both he and the judge were not persuaded by Schroeder’s apparent attempts to “mask” the debris at the property
Fink said the civil order he filed against Schroeder is pending as he, the city and the code enforcement officer monitor Schroeder’s progress in getting the property up to code.
Schroeder said he’s hopeful – though uncertain – if he has done enough to keep the city, courts and code enforcement officer at bay. “How do I know when it’s over or it’s not over?” he said. “Do I just walk around on pins and needles every day and can’t sleep at night because I’m wondering what is next?”
Despite the uncertainty, Schroeder’s plan is to work a couple more years until he qualifies for Social Security and then hang up his transmission tools and close the shop. Meanwhile, he’s sure of only one thing: “I do not want to go back to jail.”
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact content director / investigative reporter Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.