DE QUEEN — A De Queen residential-care center for the mentally ill could be one of three in the state to get its license revoked.
Some in the city would like to see it go.
Mayor Chad Gallagher said the De Queen Residential Care Facility has burdened the city.
"The city of De Queen has spent so much time responding to calls about the residents shoplifting or loitering," he said.
De Queen Police Chief Jim Smith said the center has posed a problem for local law enforcement who have had to answer numerous calls about the residents.
Smith said his department had been asked to transport the residents who became too violent for the center.
But the biggest problem comes from a deception by the center's owner, Smith said.
"We were assured that there wouldn't be a criminal element in there, and there have been convicted murderers," Smith said. "We have a guy down there right now that I got word on last week who is a convicted sex offender that I have to track. He's living there right now."
The De Queen center is owned by Joe Alexander of Camden and his mother Avanell Looney of Sparkman.
Dr. Ray Nelson, a former commissioner of the state Developmental Disabilities Services Division, has worked for Alexander and Looney for several weeks. He said the staff was unaware of any criminals in the De Queen center, but said an individual was on probation for a sex offense.
"Whether he is convicted or not they don't know," Nelson said.
He said some residents did come from release programs if they were deemed safe to re-enter the community.
"We are looking into addressing all of the issues and concerns," he said.
Nelson said Alexander had done extensive renovations on the De Queen center since buying the building three years ago.
The residents at the De Queen center are able to come and go as they please, although staff at the center helps the residents with daily care needs.
"We are a step between a residential program and a return to home and community," Nelson said. "We are a long-term care facility for people who have nowhere to go back to, whose emotional needs are more than they can deal with on their own and in the community."
But some in the community think the center is an unfair burden on taxpayers.
Sevier County Sheriff John Partain said his department is charged with transporting patients to other institutions if they become violent.
"It is not a state-run institution. It is a private institution that charges for care and is there to make money. If they are going to use the sheriff's department to transport patients, they should have to pay for the deputy's time."
But Gallagher said he would be willing to sit down and talk with Nelson.
"His obligation is to do what is best for the residents, and mine is to do what is best for the people of the community," he said.