The house where a Georgia teen was allegedly tortured, humiliated and hospitalized with acute alcohol poisoning had been a neighborhood nuisance for months and at least one other teen suffered an alleged assault there, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The $645,000 home of Carlton and Lauren Strother on Killgriffe Street in Saint Simons Island, Georgia had been visited by cops at least 11 times in the eight months before the Glynn County Police launched their investigation, according to interim Police Chief O'Neal Jackson.
The parent of another teen tells DailyMail.com she filed charges stemming from an alleged attack at the house in mid-March. It is believed that charges did not follow.
And on March 21, 19-year-old Trent Lehrkamp was recorded in the house covered in garbage and being taunted before landing in the intensive care unit.
DailyMail.com can reveal that the home on Killgriffe Street in Saint Simons Island, Georgia, was a neighborhood nuisance and had been visited by cops 11 times in eight months
Trent Lehrkamp, 19, was allegedly tortured by a group of teens at the home
Lehrkamp was hooked up to a ventilator in the intensive care unit following his traumatic outing. He was released on Saturday
In another incident in mid-March, one of the teens said to have been involved in the Lehrkamp attack, Rooker Hobby, 17, allegedly shot a young woman at point-blank range in the back with an Orbeez water-pellet gun when she stopped by the property after a day at the beach in mid-March, the girl's mother, who asked not to be identified, said.
The girl was wearing a bikini top and shorts when Hobby used the weapon, the mother said. Orbeez guns have been linked to several injuries as shooting them has become a viral TikTok challenge.
Hobby is the only one of Lehrkamp's alleged attackers whose name has been made public. He was arrested in November and spent three days in jail for an incident involving a smashed mirror and pot at his mother's house. A charge of criminal trespass is still pending against him.
His lawyer, Alan Tucker, did not respond to a request for comment.
His mother told police he had a drinking problem, according to WSAV.
The girl told her mother what happened after news broke that Lehrkamp had been dumped at the Southeast Georgia Medical Center emergency room covered in urine and with a blood alcohol content of .464 – nearly six times the level in Georgia to be considered legally drunk.
The concerned mom said that her daughter feels depressed and doesn't want to go back to school, but also refused to go back to the Strother property after what happened.
It's a lesson that Lehrkamp learned too late. He had been injured at the property at least once before, on March 17, when he suffered a cut over his left eye that required stitches, according to a police report.
The Glynn County Police have brought in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI to help with technical and chemical analysis but locals remains outraged and suspicious of the investigation because no arrests have been made nearly two weeks after the incident.
The Strother family owns a hardware store on Mallery Street, the main shopping district
Locals remain outraged and suspicious of the investigation because no arrests have been made nearly two weeks after the incident
Many in the community harbor a deep suspicion of the Glynn County Police department after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, who was gunned down while jogging in the neighboring town of Brunswick on February 23, 2020.
It took authorities more than two months to bring murder charges against three local men, two of whom had ties to the District Attorney. Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and William 'Roddie' Bryan were eventually convicted of Arbery's murder. The McMichaels each received life sentences and Bryan was jailed for 35 years.
Many in the community harbor a deep suspicion of the Glynn County Police department after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, who was gunned down while jogging in the neighboring town of Brunswick on February 23, 2020
The department also lost the accreditation of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police as recently as 2018 for 'multiple shortcomings' and has been trying to rebuild in the years since.
Interim Police Chief O'Neal Jackson bristled at the comparison between the Arbery case and the hazing, and cautioned the public to be patient while investigators collect and analyze the evidence.
Multiple videos of the March 17 and March 21 incidents have surfaced on social media. Jackson said that all the parties had been identified, leaving locals wondering why no charges have been filed.
'This isn't going to be an overnight investigation,' Jackson told DailyMail.com.
'If we could make a case off one single photo or one single video without getting any other type of evidence, then that would not be a proper – that would not be a thorough investigation,' he said.
The Glynn County Police Department has offered up its tip line for anyone with information to report it anonymously.
'We will follow up on every lead, no matter where it comes from,' Jackson said.
Neighbors of the Stothers, however, question his sincerity.
'You are the first person to ask me about that house,' one neighbor – who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution – told DailyMail.com.
'I called the tip line and offered to show them my Ring camera footage, but no one has called me. I would have thought they would have knocked on every door. We would, of course, cooperate, but we have never heard anything back. It's surprising and yet disappointing, but they may have good reason.'
Lehrkamp was allegedly tortured and humiliated by same group of teens at least twice before ending up in the ICU
Lehrkamp broke his silence weeks after the attack that left him soaked in urine and on a ventilator after his breathing dropped to a rate of just six breaths a minute from 'drinking vodka and antidepressants.' Pictured: Lehrkamp hugging his dad, Mark, 44
The homeowner said that the 16-year-old boy who hosted teen soireés often had his friends over and they would play loud music and drive around at high speed in a golf cart. It is not known if the parents were aware of the parties.
Other neighbors, who also declined to be named, said that police had not stopped by to ask them about the nights in question.
'There could be a reason that I am unaware of for the police not responding,' said one neighbor.
The Strother family owns a hardware store on Mallery Street, the main shopping district.
Local residents said that the Strother boy who was involved in the incident doesn't attend school.
The young man, who spoke briefly to DailyMail.com but is not being identified because he is a minor, said that 'things got out of hand,' but he denied being there for much of the time.
He confirmed that he does not attend in-person classes because of his anxiety.
The boy's parents, Carlton and Lauren Strother, did not respond to messages left at their home. Jason Clark, the lawyer representing their son, also did not respond to a request for comment.
The mother of the girl who said her daughter was assaulted at the property said that the Killgriffe Street property had become a known party spot for kids despite the fact that the young man who lives there doesn't go to the local high school Glynn Academy where Lehrkamp graduated last year.
The police chief denied that the teens, who live in the wealthy enclave of Saint Simons Island, have not been arrested because of their privileged status
One local who lives in Brunswick, the working-class town across the Mackay River separated from Saint Simons Island by a four-mile causeway, said this case is all about wealth and status
Other teens recorded on social media at the house during the time in question have not officially been identified, but their names are well known around the town of 15,000 people.
One of the teens is said to be the son of a Glynn County police officer, but the officer denied the allegation when DailyMail.com questioned him.
'He doesn't know them,' the officer said. 'I can't talk about it,' he said and pointed to the patrol car parked in his driveway.
Chief Jackson also said that the officer's son was not at the scene at the time of the alleged torture.
The chief also denied that the teens, who live in the wealthy enclave of Saint Simons Island, have not been arrested because of their privileged status.
'Race, color, wealth, status have nothing to do with this investigation,' Jackson said.
Ben Shepard, 50, who lives in Brunswick, the working-class town across the Mackay River separated from Saint Simons Island by a four-mile causeway, said this case is all about wealth and status.
His 18-year-old daughter Allie goes to Glynn Academy, where many of the boys involved go to school.
'If it was somebody over on the mainland, over on Brunswick,' he said snapping his fingers. 'Within the end of the week, they would a been already charged.
'It doesn't matter who you are. If you live over there. It's completely different. That bridge changes everything. It does.'
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