SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A South Fulton resident explained he is relieved to hear that a party house that had been frightening their neighborhood will no longer be a disruption after 19 people were detained in a human trafficking investigation Thursday, according to police.
A neighbor who spoke to 11Alive, Ryan Gibson, said the house had been "terrorizing" the neighborhood. He said it had been put up for rent in mid-November and that since that point, there had been all-night parties every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Gibson explained that the parties would go from 11 p.m. to 8 or 9 a.m. the following morning.
"Uber cars literally lined up down the street, as if it was an event or concert or something," he said. "And it would be young girls coming out with bags, we had no idea what was going on inside the home. It had us up in arms throughout the neighborhood, so we're really appreciative to South Fulton for eliminating this issue."
Gibson described to 11Alive the type of large parties that the group would throw and the damage and disruption they would cause to the neighborhood.
"It was just the NYE (New Year's Eve) party; it was "Big NYE 2023," it was huge. It was probably about 70 cars out here," Gibson said. "They did donuts in the middle of the street -- you can see right here with the tire marks. That was done on New Year's from that home and those parties. We're just happy that they're out."
Gibson shared social media posts with 11Alive that advertised parties at the home, which appeared to be linked to Instagram accounts that promote large parties -- often with the location not revealed until the day or week of the party.
He described the partygoers as many young women between the ages of 18 and 24.
Gibson added he's one of the youngest homeowners in the neighborhood, and that most of his neighbors are elderly. He said he works overnight and would notice a lot of younger women coming out of the home when he would get back to the neighborhood.
"I work overnight, and coming in at 6 a.m., I would be noticing young kids coming out of the house and young kids still going into the house, which was the problem for me because, like, what are you doing at 7 a.m.?" Gibson said. "And like I said, from all of my neighbors observing, young girls coming out at 8 and 9 a.m. with suitcases -- it leads us to believe that other things were going on."
At the end of the day, Gibson is just happy there seems to finally be a solution to the situation.
"We're just happy they're out of the way -- trash, liquor bottles up and down the street," he said. "We love our neighborhood, respect our neighborhood."
In a release, the City of South Fulton Police Department said officers first responded to a shots fired call on Orly Terrace. Police said they could hear shots at the house when they arrived and eventually detained "approximately" 19 people.
South Fulton Police added it has previously received "several complaints" about the location hosting illegal parties.