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Lawsuit authorized in Eloy yard debris case

Posted at 6:19 AM, Jul 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-21 13:37:50-04

Pinal County took action Wednesday toward the goal of having debris cleared from the yard of a rural Eloy home.

The Board of Supervisors voted to authorize a lawsuit against Shawn Mullenix and Georgina Ruiz, the owners of a home on the 13000 block of West Hydrus Avenue, about 15 miles west of I-10.

Furniture, a television and bathtub can be seen on the property outside the home. If Mullenix and Ruiz don’t clean up the debris, the county wants a judge’s permission to send cleaning workers to the home and bill the property owners.

“It’s demoralizing in a lot of ways because you think you've come to a perfect paradise and what you roll up to is the proverbial trailer park,” said Kathy Snyder, who is one of several nearby residents upset with the debris situation at the home.

A phone number could not be found for Mullenix or Ruiz. A “no trespassing” sign at the fence line of the property includes a handwritten note that reads “Beware of the Owner.” Another warns that all trespassers will be shot.

The property is rural, but approximately a half-dozen other homes are within a quarter-mile of the home.

The county has tried for more than a year to have Mullenix and Ruiz clean up the property, records state.

Himanshu Patel, the Pinal County Community Development Director, said the potential lawsuit against the property owner is a result of complaints from nearby residents.