A family’s dream home turned into a nightmare after their neighbor, a hoarder, turned his property into an unofficial dumping ground and blocked their driveway with trash.
Elena Malone and her husband purchased their three-bedroom family home in Sun Valley, California for $1.2 million in 2021.
But shortly after they moved in, their neighbor, 50-year-old David Ferrera’s, property began flooding with human feces, condoms, sex toys and over 100 abandoned vehicles, broken electronics, scrap metal and chemical waste.
The family and other neighbors told The LA Times that the trash not only looks awful, but also poses a serious health and safety risk, but authorities have taken no action.
Malone said: ‘It was so beautiful. I just think that one person should not jeopardize the safety of the community.’
Elena Malone and her husband bought their three-bedroom family home in Sun Valley, California in 2021 for $1.2 million, but three years later it has become a living nightmare as their neighbor’s lot is overflowing with trash
When Malone, her husband and their two young children moved into the house on Wildwood Fire Road, it was a beautiful home, set on a half-acre of landscaped grounds with fireplaces, exposed beams and an open kitchen.
But three years later, the family is desperate to leave.
Their neighbor Ferrera, who relatives told the LA Times is a mentally ill hoarder, has turned his property into an illegal dumping ground.
Reports say he filled the area with mountains of trash, metal, hazardous waste and more than 100 rusty, broken-down vehicles.
When his house became inaccessible because of the trash, he got into his car in front of the Malones’ house.
Their driveway and front yard became littered with hypodermic needles, bags of marijuana, human feces and condoms.
Malone had to forbid her children – ages nine and 11 – from playing in the front yard.
She told The LA Times: “It just doesn’t add up.”
When she found Ferrera and his girlfriend unconscious in the car, she said, “I couldn’t wake them up. I was afraid they were going to die of an overdose.”
Their neighbor Ferrera — whose relatives told the LA Times he is a mentally ill hoarder — has turned his property into an illegal dumping ground, as can be seen in aerial photos
When Malone, her husband and their two young children moved into the new home on Wildwood Fire Road, it was beautiful, set on a half-acre of landscaped grounds with fireplaces, exposed beams and an open kitchen
The family and other neighbors asked local authorities for help, but told The LA Times they did nothing.
Ferrera’s property is owned by his 80-year-old mother, Mary, who agrees it is a serious problem and told The Times she has tried to help him clean it up but there is nothing more she can do.
She told The Times: ‘He started collecting metal to survive, which may have fuelled or exacerbated his collecting mania.’
Mary was charged with property code violation for failing to clean the property in 2021. She was sentenced to 180 days in jail.
She reportedly sobbed as she told the judge that she had removed 21 truckloads of trash from the site, only to have her son fill the land with even more waste.
She was released after spending one night in jail.
The neighbors are now becoming increasingly concerned about a fire that could break out on their property and around their own homes.
Scout Raskin, who lives on the road, told The Times: “There are no side streets to run to. If the fire surrounds us, we’ll all die.”