Plenty opportunity for trash shenanigans along Birmingham Drive (east of I-5)

In the Poinsettia Heights neighborhood of Cardiff by the Sea, a middle-aged woman, well known for her mental illness and attacks on neighbors, was taken into custody last week by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. Deputy Allen Paez, posting on Nextdoor.com, notified neighbors of the arrest.

“We had a warrant, and we just executed the warrant,” said Paez.

She was charged with California Penal Code 166(A)(4), contempt of court in violating a restraining order prohibiting her from throwing trash and feces on nearby neighbors' property. Her bail was set at $15,000. She was home the next day, according to a resident.

The woman lives at the end of one of the neighborhood’s 19 streets off Birmingham Drive, east of I-5. “We’ve been dealing with her for the past six years,” said a resident who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals.

Reprisals are understandable, since I may have also been a trash target last September 29 when I started asking questions about the 58-year-old woman on NextDoor; I live six blocks and four streets away.

After her most current arrest, it took me several days of requests (posted on NextDoor) to get any resident familiar with the incidents to contact me. “She is retaliatory,” said a 25-year homeowner on February 22. Based on our phone interview, he is very knowledgeable about the incidents.

“She’s a hoarder,” said the homeowner. The woman does not pay for weekly trash-pickup service.

“She’s very dangerous,” the homeowner alleged. “I’ve seen her try to run kids over with her car while they were riding their Big Wheels down the street. She’s been known to steal dogs and [is suspected of] killing them.”

While code enforcement for the City of Encinitas is aware of the issue and the sheriff’s department continues their investigation, asking residents to submit evidence and photos (she is suspected of striking in the early-morning hours), the only options residents see for resolving the problem is filing a civil lawsuit.

“No one has the money for that, to pay for a hundred hours of a lawyer’s time,” said the homeowner.

In the meantime, the sheriff’s department will continue to file charges against her when and if she gets caught in an act; most of her past arrests have been reduced to misdemeanors.

“We all know it’s only a matter of time until she hurts or kills someone,” said the homeowner. “Then we’ll all say we knew it would happen.”