ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — An admitted hoarder returned from a county jail stint unrelated to code violations involving his property, and discovered his piles of junk were gone.
Jason Johns, 52, was arrested in December for possession of methamphetamine and was locked up on a probation violation.
While he was away, the company Junk Warriors gave Johns’ friends and family a discount rate to clear the property on 56th Street North. A stunning 20 tons of trash was hauled away.
Now, his neighbors say surveillance camera video shows Johns sifting through trash cans near his home and hauling shopping carts of items back to his property.
Jayms Battaglia and other neighbors said Johns collects junk throughout the day, including early in the morning. They said he also “acts irrationally” when asked to stop and leaves obscene notes on the trash he doesn’t take.
“I don’t know if he’s going to end up with a credit card in my name,” Battaglia said. “We’re not sure what’s going on with him, but we want our neighborhood to be a civil neighborhood for everybody.”
Neighbors said the situation is far from civil, with confrontations erupting on a regular basis.
Amanda Ergler called police after an argument between Johns and her husband included a caught-on camera statement that Ergler said was a threat.
“I know how to [expletive] kill you,” Johns is heard saying on the recording.
Ergler called the police.
“But they said because he didn’t actively say what he was going to do, how he was going to kill him or show a weapon, they couldn’t do anything,” Ergler said.
That was one of many police visits to Johns’ home. Records show officers have been there 42 times since last April.
A petition Ergler filed for an injunction for stalking was denied in court. The order stated the court could not issue an injunction “to keep the peace between neighbors or force people to behave civilly.”
No one answered when 8 On Your Side knocked on Johns’ door and he has yet to respond to a note asking for comment.
Last year, Johns said some of the debris was dumped in his yard by strangers and he also blamed his personal issues.
“I had a couple of deaths in my family in the past year and I’m a little bit of a hoarder,” Johns said. “I admit that.”
City officials said collecting junk is not illegal. The courts cannot put a lien on the property until violations total at least $15,000.
Andrew Watts, who lives across the street from Johns, has called for changes in the law to allow quicker action by the city when other cases like this arise.
“We hear on the media, see something, say something,” Watts said. “Well, we see this, but saying something does nothing. It has escalated. Over the last week, the cops were here five times. Five times for this guy.”
His wife Bonnie said she does not feel safe to go outside.
“I feel like I’m in prison. I’m imprisoned in my house,” she said. “I can’t come out here and enjoy the flowers.”
