Vandals Target Carson Street Homes

Vandals have made their way inside three abandoned homes on Carson Street, with profane doodles and scribbles taking up entire walls. One home has the sentence, "I will f--- ur mom," in large, black spray painted letter above its main stairwell.

The taggers hit 227, 221 and 239 Carson Street. All were left vacant due to the butting up against the homes.

"These abandoned properties are not only an eyesore and a blight on this neighborhood and city but are unsafe for anybody who ventures inside of them due to the presence of mold in them caused by ever-present water inside from past rainstorms which washed right through the properties," said a set of emails between resident Billy Vogele to Hercules Chief Building Official John McGuire.

"Unfortunately, there is a process that has to be followed before the court system will issue an inspection/abatement warrant... I will see about securing the properties, but by law I am not even allowed to do that.  The Municipal Code gives me the authority to require that a property be boarded up but there is no one that will respond to such a request.  Again, I will probably have to secure a warrant," said McGuire.

Earlier in the month, Carson Street residents noticed four males exit 227 Carson Street with a cooler, leaving behind fresh graffiti. Police were called, but the men had already disappeared, Vogele said.

Also in May, a neighbor "told me that he recently saw a suspicious person hanging around 227 and ran him off. He also saw the presence of obscene graffiti inside of 239 recently," Vogele said.

"It is obvious that these properties are not only a nuisance, but an attractive one which threatens the health, safety, security, and well-being of this community," Vogele said.

Vogele said he has complained to the city about the (vacant homes) for over a year. He said various people have been seen lurking around the vacant homes since last summer.

Correction: When first published, this article said resident Billy Vogele has complained to the city about graffiti in the vacant homes for over a year. What he in fact said was, "For well over a year now, I have been complaining to the city regarding the presence of the abandoned, red-tagged properties at 221, 227, and 239 Carson."