SAN DIEGO — Neighbors said a non-descript house at the end of their street sat empty for decades. But a few months ago, that all changed.
Today, the home in the 3300 block of Dale Street in North Park has several residents. Neighbors believe they're squatters that are up to no good.
“It's horrifying that grandmas can't walk their grandchildren down to Jack in the Box for an afternoon milkshake,” said North Park resident Maureen Stavas.
She says she saw a man bringing what appeared to be an underaged girl into the home and when she went to take a closer look, she says the man pulled out a weapon.
“He dropped a machete right down, a few feet away from me, and he just dropped it and looked at it and he looked up at me and I looked back at him and I thought, this is very, very dangerous and it's scary," she said.
Several neighbors say they've called the police and the city, but nothing is being done. And while it's not illegal to own an empty home, city code requires it to be secured to keep squatters out.
“What we're frustrated by is the city is not enforcing code,” said Andy Laub. He lives a few doors down from the house in question. “This is an unsecured, abandoned home at the end of our block with pimps, and prostitutes and what we think is also child trafficking because we're seeing girls that are clearly underage going in and out and nothing is happening.”
Property records show the home belongs to a person named Edwin Austin, who actually owns several homes around the county.
CBS 8 went to his last known address. No one answered the door and the house appeared to be vacant. Spiderwebs and paper flyers covered the front door. Neighbors told us they hadn't seen anybody there in quite a while.
We also tried calling multiple numbers listed for him and left messages, but so far no one has gotten back to us. The neighbors in North Park say they've also tried contacting the owner, but they also can't reach him.
Working For You, we also reached out to San Diego Police and the City attorney's office. Late this afternoon, the City Attorney’s office confirmed that they do not have an open case on that address.
San Diego Police still have not gotten back to us on where they stand with the situation at the home, leaving neighbors concerned for their safety.
With a big sigh, Maureen wondered, “What does it take to get this addressed?”
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