A special court for St. Louis slumlords has sent its first person to jail. He’s Willie Gatling, sentenced to 33 days in jail by the Problem Property Court, which deals with people who don’t fix up their properties. Records show Gatling has been before that court 37 times in the last 30 months or so. The court has heard more than 2,700 cases since it was set up but Gatling is the first person whose worn out his welcome before that court. In previous appearances, he’s been fined a total of $20,000. City records show he hasn’t been paying his fines. City records show two of his seven properties have a a total of 32 building code violations against them.
