# Woman has neighbor's house trailer bulldozed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107 "2014-05-10T03:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/1 "2014-05-10T03:40:48Z")
She didn’t do things halfway. She wanted the trailer and their stinky septic system removed. 😛 I guess this is similar to fed up neighbors throwing gas and a match on a vacant crack house. They draw in a lot of criminals and can absolutely devastate what was a nice street. Taking the law into their own hands shouldn’t happen, but people get desperate if enough years pass without any action. I see the lady showed the contractor that the trailer was vacant. Wonder where she got a key? [http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_NEIGHBOR\_DISPUTE\_BULLDOZER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NEIGHBOR_DISPUTE_BULLDOZER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) > [@](#): > > According to an arrest report, Ana Maria Moreta Folch of St. Augustine told a heavy equipment operator that she owned the trailer and wanted it and its septic tank destroyed. > > The Florida Times-Union ( [http://bit.ly/1mJ33qa](http://bit.ly/1mJ33qa) ) reports that St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies were called when the trailer’s real owner arrived Monday and found the demolition underway. > [@](#): > > The arrest report said Moreta Folch had the trailer bulldozed because people who had lived there were unsavory and she suspected they had broken into her car. She said she considerred it a favor to her neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/2 "2014-05-11T18:14:18Z")
Wow, that’s a weird story. I’m glad I don’t have any neighbors that would do something like that (at least I think I don’t…) Though I admit, there are a couple houses further down the block that I wouldn’t mind seeing bulldozed. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/3 "2014-05-11T18:31:12Z")
You destroy someone’s whole home and it’s only third degree felony? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/4 "2014-05-11T20:24:58Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > You destroy someone’s whole home and it’s only third degree felony? Poor people don’t count. What do they need homes for anyway? Many of them seem to get along perfectly well without them. I wish my life was as easy and uncomplicated as theirs. \ ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/5 "2014-05-11T20:30:56Z")
Is it because the damage was “only” $25,000? That’s pretty effed up. Not likely she’s going to get prison time I suppose. If there was any justice, she would get the lot she claimed was hers, and the now-homeless family would get her home. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/6 "2014-05-11T20:57:21Z")
My guess is the relatively low value of the trailer accounts for the charge. When I read stuff like this, I’m so glad I left Florida 10 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/7 "2014-05-11T21:05:05Z")
What about Florida’s “castle” laws? shouldn’t the family who got their home invaded get to shoot the woman? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/8 "2014-05-11T21:30:42Z")
What about the bulldozer operator? Is the operator also facing charges? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/9 "2014-05-11T21:34:55Z")
What I find most disturbing about this (apart from this… > [@](#): > > Moreta Folch was charged with criminal mischief, a third-degree felony. ) …is that she was able to simply point a wrecking company to a property and say “it’s mine and I want it gone” without anyone checking that she had the right to do so. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/10 "2014-05-11T21:41:39Z")
Why would anyone question it? Just a few weeks ago, we hired a guy to move a shed in our yard, but for all he knew, we were screwing around on someone else’s property. I don’t find fault with the wrecking company. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/11 "2014-05-11T22:19:21Z")
When you hire a wrecking company, don’t they have to sign a form stating that you are the owner of the thing to be wrecked, and give permission, and the form has a description of the thing to be wrecked? Or was this the more informal kind of wrecking. involving cash to someone who will happen to stop by, no questions asked? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/12 "2014-05-11T22:27:22Z")
The article said the lady unlocked the trailer to show the dozer guy it was unoccupied. I can see why that would have convinced him it was her property. They aren’t sure how the lady got the key. WAG I suspect the trailer was old and probably badly neglected. It looked like something waiting to be demolished. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/13 "2014-05-11T22:32:54Z")
Was there anyone officially living in it, with the permission of the owner? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/14 "2014-05-11T22:37:21Z")
This is all the local news reported. Maybe the owner was looking for a new renter? Without pictures its hard to say if the property was abandoned or not. > [@](#): > > She had a key and showed the contractor no one was currently living there before he started work Monday. > > But then the owner showed up. And a deputy was called. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/15 "2014-05-11T22:42:31Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Why would anyone question it? Just a few weeks ago, we hired a guy to move a shed in our yard, but for all he knew, we were screwing around on someone else’s property. I don’t find fault with the wrecking company. Well, I know - my trade involves working on other peoples’ houses every day. But we’re invariably _improving_ the property, not destroying it. But I guess I can see how that could happen. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/16 "2014-05-12T13:34:08Z")
Don’t most jurisdictions require a permit to demolish houses? And wouldn’t you have to be able to prove it was your property to get the permit? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/17 "2014-05-12T14:22:36Z")
More to the point, how is a pile of rubble more attractive than a decrepit house? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/18 "2014-05-12T14:36:31Z")
This reminds me somewhat of the 2008 story of the Sheriff who ordered a mobile home bulldozed when the transporter’s vehicle [the transporter’s vehicle broke down](http://www.kentucky.com/2008/11/19/597604/sheriffs-order-destroys-home.html). ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/19 "2014-05-12T14:41:21Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > More to the point, how is a pile of rubble more attractive than a decrepit house? The pile of rubble doesn’t have ‘undesirables’ living in it. I gather that was the woman’s goal - to force her neighbors to move away. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107/20 "2014-05-12T14:49:04Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Poor people don’t count. What do they need homes for anyway? Many of them seem to get along perfectly well without them. I wish my life was as easy and uncomplicated as theirs. > > \ What should the charge have been? Let’s say she caused a mansion worth five million dollars to bulldozed – what Florida crime would cover that? I’ll give you a hint: > [@](#): > > 806.13 Criminal mischief; penalties; penalty for minor.— > (1)(a) A person commits the offense of criminal mischief if he or she willfully and maliciously injures or damages by any means any real or personal property belonging to another, including, but not limited to, the placement of graffiti thereon or other acts of vandalism thereto. > (b)1. If the damage to such property is $200 or less, it is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. > 2. If the damage to such property is greater than $200 but less than $1,000, it is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. > 3. If the damage is $1,000 or greater, or if there is interruption or impairment of a business operation or public communication, transportation, supply of water, gas or power, or other public service which costs $1,000 or more in labor and supplies to restore, it is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. As I read it, the highest possible charge is when the damage exceeds $1000, as it does here. In other words, there is no more serious charge, even if the damage had been $5 million. Were you thinking of something else that I’m missing? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-has-neighbors-house-trailer-bulldozed/688107.md?page=2)