City of San Diego sues Oak Park group home operators, alleging years of crime, overdoses and two homicides have turned the property into a dangerous public nuisance.
SAN DIEGO — Two homicides, one tenant throwing gasoline on another, and a 97-year-old woman punched by another tenant; these are just four of the 190 calls made from a South San Diego home that San Diego Police responded to since January 2018, according to a new public nuisance lawsuit filed by the San Diego City Attorney’s Office.
During that time, code inspectors and city attorneys say the owner of the home on the 3100 block of 54th Street had up to 15 people living inside under the guise of it being an Independent Living Facility.
San Diego city officials say the owner turned the property into a magnet for crime, violence, and medical emergencies, according to the lawsuit, obtained by CBS 8.
From January 1, 2018, through February 10, 2025, San Diego police logged more than 190 calls for service at the home, requiring over 532 hours of officer time, the complaint states. Many calls involved fights, domestic violence, suicide threats, welfare checks, mental health crises, suspected drug overdoses and two homicides tied to the address.
In addition, police and city inspectors responded to reports of rampant drug use at the living facility operating under the name of “Friends Helping Friends,” according to the lawsuit. Tenants at the home, some of whom lived in tents outside and in the laundry room, paid as much as $900 in rent.
In the lawsuit, city attorneys say there were dozens of medical and mental health calls, from seizures and psychotic episodes to suicide attempts and welfare checks requested by doctors, Adult Protective Services and hospital staff concerned about residents.
Other calls, according to the lawsuit, included reports of a resident exposing himself and masturbating in front of a roommate, a man trying to solicit sex in the backyard, and a fight in which one resident smeared feces on another’s head during an argument over bathroom access.
The City Attorney’s Office is asking a court to declare the home a public nuisance and force the operators to address what officials describe as chronic criminal activity and unsafe conditions. In addition to obtaining a proper business license, the City Attorney’s Office is asking a judge to order the owner of the home to cease all advertising, stop leasing the property to tenants until all code violations are addressed and the property is safe to live in, and force the owner to pay at least $1,000,000 in fines.