CARRBORO -- The town of Carrboro sent a housing inspector to Abbey Court Condominiums Friday.

If Mayor Mark Chilton has his way, it will be the first of many inspections of the complex on Jones Ferry Road.

The inspection followed another tense incident at Abbey Court Thursday night.

A man visiting the complex ran out of an apartment carrying a child in a car seat when he saw his car being towed. He opened the driver's door and snapped the child into the back seat, according to a police report.

By the time Chilton and Alderwoman Jacquie Gist got there around 10 p.m., the white Nissan Sentra was being unhooked, and the owner was paying $100 to get his car back. (Read the police report at blogs.newsoberver.com/orangechat/home.)

Management has begun enforcing a new towing policy that requires residents to get parking stickers. But it won't give stickers to damaged cars or cars whose owners can't show registration and other paperwork.

Residents say the policy discriminates against the mostly Latino residents, some of them illegal immigrants, who can't comply.

Bart White, the attorney for the homeowners association, could not be reached Friday but has said Abbey Court is private property and management is trying to reduce crowding. The complex is near a bus stop and at times has become an unofficial park and ride lot.

Chilton spoke to residents Thursday night in Spanish and said he stressed the importance of non-violence.

The town can't keep the tow trucks out -- at least 19 vehicles have been removed since July 17 -- but it can make sure all its own housing requirements are being met, he said.

"I'm being asked by residents of Abbey Court about a whole package of issues going on," Chilton said Friday. "The stated reasons for these actions don't make any sense to me.

"I'm hearing a lot of complaints about a lot of things," he said.

Efforts to reach Ken Lucas, president of property manager Tar Heel Companies of North Carolina, were unsuccessful Friday.

Friday's inspection, prompted by a resident's complaint, found a broken window, a missing smoke detector, a water heater that needed a plate to protect the flame at its base and a blocked fresh air vent that needed to be cleaned.

Resident Alfonso Hernandez, 17, who lives in the unit, said there's also a problem with roaches.

"It's all the buildings," he said.

He said after he complained about a window that fell out when he tried to open it, maintenance workers came.

"They just pushed it in and told us not to open it," he said.