'We want it clean': BCSO arrest 22 people, condemn property causing issues for neighbors
COCOA, Fla. - The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is cracking down on crime hubs in the county.
The sheriff’s office raided 1431 Peachtree Street in Cocoa this week and arrested 22 people living on the property.
It’s part of Sheriff Wayne Ivey's "High Intensity Target" list, and deputies will go after any homes causing issues for the surrounding neighborhood.
Deputies have been called out to the property on Peachtree Street 270 times in 72 months for all kinds of crimes. When they went out there this week, they say they found 40 people living there. Now, half of them are in jail.
Several trailers and garbage still littered the property on Wednesday. Neighbors tell FOX 35 it's been a crime hub for years.
"We want it clean. We want the whole street to be cleaned," said Vinton Moton who works nearby.
It’s not cleaned up yet, but this time, the sheriff's office took a step forward in hopes of making that happen.
They arrested nearly two dozen people residing on the property.
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Tod Goodyear with the sheriff’s office says the goal was to, "not only just take some people out of there, maybe get some drugs out of the situation but also close it down,"
The property’s now condemned, and neighbors want to see it demolished.
In the recent raid, 22 people were taken into custody for drug possession, violation of probation and other crimes.
"That’s good. They clean it up," added Moton.
Getting called out to one area that many times puts a strain on deputies' resources.
"Even though we were going out there and taking enforcement action, answering those calls and arresting people, finding drugs and doing all those things – those people were just coming back," said Goodyear.
Now, no one is allowed to come back.
"It’s better for me," concluded one neighbor who didn’t want to show his face on camera.
If you have a problem property in your community, start tracking issues and making police reports. See something and say something because that goes a long way to help fix the problem.