CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. -- A Punta Gorda mother says her 4 year-old nearly stepped on a drug needle in their backyard, now she's starting a petition to change Florida's eviction laws to go after the people who she believes put it there: her neighbors.
Ashley Parolisi has lived in her home in 1000 block of Hickery Avenue for over a decade. Recently she's had to watch every step she takes in her backyard after finding two syringes and what she believes is a meth pipe in her yard.
“The meth pipe was there right next to the piece of concrete,” said Parolisi, as she walked Fox 4 now reporter Deborah Souverain through her yard.
There were piles of debris scattered around the lawn; remnants of the trash Parolisi says her neighbors have dumped in her yard.
“There were coolers, there were guns and ammo, all kinds of stuff," said Ashley. "Its crazy."
She says the two syringes her husband found in their yard was the final straw.
“It wasn’t capped, [my son] could’ve been poked. It could’ve been a really, really bad situation,” said Parolisi.
A bad situation that felt worse with each discovery.
“It’s was just disgusting."
An search warrant obtained by Fox 4 news shows a Charlotte County swat team raided the home back in February. Deputies charged a woman living in the home with drug possession. A man in the home was charged with possession of a firearm with the serial number removed.
Parolisi believes there's other illegal activity going on after a man mistook her 13-year-old daughter for a prostitute.
“He said 'are you Becky from back page, and I jumped up out of the chair. He then backed out and said 'whoa, wrong house.' There’s definitely prostitution, definitely."
Neighbors say they've also seen young women who appear to be prostituting walk down their street.
"Tell me about the women you say you've seen," said Deborah Souverain, Fox 4 now reporter. “Which ones, there’s been many,” said Kelly Kartz.
A woman who lives two homes down, who didn't want to be identified, says she's also seen suspicious activity.
“There was obvious drug traffic and drug deals going down,” said neighbor.
Parolisi has started a change.org petition in hopes of getting enough signatures to send to the governor. She wants Florida to adopt a nuisance law that would give law enforcement more authority in removing suspected drug dealers or repeat drug offenders from a home.
“In other states they do have drug dealer eviction programs, but Florida doesn’t,” said Parolis.
A neighborhood watch meeting is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion in Punta Gorda.
