The Harris County attorney's office is taking legal action against one of Midtown's hottest crime spots — the Texaco station and convenience store at 2111 Fannin.

With more that 200 reported calls to the Houston Police Department since August 2011, somehow the word "sketchy" isn't a strong enough descriptor for the notorious spot across from the Greyhound Station. In the past year alone, HPD has made at least 10 official arrests at the location for robbery, aggravated assault, drug trafficking and prostitution.

"Defendants have knowingly tolerated this and have allowed such activity to occur habitually on the Property," an unusual lawsuit brought by the Harris County attorney's office reads. Prosecutors claim the property owner and Fannin Food Mart tenants have "knowingly maintained" a site that has become a harbor for the delivery, manufacture and use of controlled substances as well as for sex trafficking.

County officials are asking property owner Jae Kim, as well as the operators of the Fannin Food Mart which runs the Texaco, to find ways to secure the site from crime or risk being shut down. Neither defending party could be reached for comment.

"The key element to this lawsuit is that it's a civil action," senior assistant county attorney Laura Cahill tells CultureMap. "It's a way of getting the locations where crime is occurring involved in the process."

After reviewing the 200 calls to police as well as the arrest reports, Cahill said the gas station owners will be offered the chance to take additional security measures. However, if police records prove more serious instances of crime, the county can have a judge close the businesses indefinitely.

"As soon as the story aired on TV, Kim contacted me to say he wanted to do something about the crime," says Cahill, who has been working on the lawsuit since July 2011. Meanwhile, she reported, the owners of the Fannin Food Mart have secured a lawyer.

Mayson Tin from Snowflake's Donuts worries that closing the neighboring gas station and convenience store will affect her profits.

With her donut shop open during the mornings in the space adjacent to the food mart, Tin notes that her business is rarely affected by reported evening crime. Nevertheless, she faces many trespassing issues during the day.

"The Greyhound Station won't let people stay there, so we get a a lot of homeless here," Tin says. "Not only that, but Harris County drops off people from the jail right in front of the store."

"The whole thing about this lawsuit is to reduce crime," Cahill says, "Not put people out of business."