This is fucking outrageous: Grandfather in Florida in jail for no grass in front yard

[DarkJedi]

Grandfather in Florida in jail WITH NO BAIL for no grass in front yard

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humanin...icle847365.ece

BAYONET POINT ? On Friday morning, Joseph Prudente put on a pair of shorts and his "Grandpa Gone Wild" T-shirt. He took off his wedding band and put his heart medication in a plastic Wal-Mart bag.

Then his daughter drove him to jail. Grandpa had time to do.

His crime? He had disobeyed a court order that he sod the lawn at his Beacon Woods home.

His bail? Zero.

Prudente, 66, must stay in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes until the required sod work is completed, under a September court order signed by Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray.

"He's in prison for God knows how long because we can't afford to sod the lawn," said his sobbing daughter, Jennifer Lehr.

Prudente has owned a home in the deed restricted community since 1998. The covenants require homeowners to keep their lawns covered with grass.

Earlier this year, the Beacon Woods Civic Association took Prudente to court after he failed to install new sod on his browning lawn, which had withered after his sprinklers broke. The association had already sent letters telling him to resod his front and back yards by certain dates.

In an interview at the jail Friday evening, Prudente said he thought he had made a good financial hardship case to the association: His adjustable rate mortgage went up an extra $600 a month. Wachovia repossessed his Toyota Scion. His daughter and her two young children, who had fallen on hard times, moved in with him and his wife, Pat.

"To me, keeping the house is more important than the grass," said Prudente, a retired registered nurse from New York. "I just ignored them."

He ignored them, too, after the association filed a complaint in court. He ignored a court order in May, signed by Bray, giving Prudente 30 days to sod the yard.

In June, the court also awarded the association $795 in fees, which included a $645 attorney's fees and a $150 fee for "an expert witness."

By September, there was still no sod. Bray found Prudente in contempt of court, but said in his order that Prudente could "purge himself of this contempt" by doing the required work within the next 30 days. That time expired Friday.

"It is clear to the Court that the ability to avoid incarceration is well within the Defendant's grasp," Bray wrote.

Representatives of the Beacon Woods association expressed regret Prudente had landed in jail. But they said it was his own fault.

"It's a sad situation," said board president Bob Ryan, who added that the association had followed all the correct procedures. "But in the end, I have to say he brought it upon himself."

Lawyer Thomas Gurran, who represents the association, said in a statement that the association had "just wanted Mr. Prudente to comply with the lawn restriction." He added that the contempt power of judges is essential to the system.

"Many orders and judgements ? would be absolutely meaningless if they could not be enforced by a judge's contempt power," he said. "This case is an example of what happens when someone defies an order entered by a judge in our country."

Prudente's family said the case had gone too far. Pat Prudente said she and her husband knew they had chosen to live in a community with restrictions. "But they shouldn't have this much power," she said.

Back at the jail ? where the population is 1,132, well above the 782 capacity ? Parente said he was being treated well. He has no criminal record in Florida and said his stay in Land O'Lakes was his first time ever in a slammer.

What comes next? He doesn't know. "Should I go out and rob a bank? Then I'd be back here," he said. "But then I'd get out on bail."

Jodie Tillman can be reached at [email protected] or (727) 869-6247.
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[Enemator]

The grass is always greener.....

[crockett]

I toss flaming shit bags on all my neighbor's front door mats for that..

[Sands]

Wasting time and resources to jail some old dude who didn't water his lawn... let's start a riot.

[421Fill]

the way the story is written it paints him to be a victim, but for all we know when he 'ignored' the requests, he did it with a middle finger and attitude. I find it hard to believe that he couldn't have found someone or some business to help him with the cost of sodding the yard. Maybe he's just an asshole that no one wanted to help.

[borked]

That is outrageous. My area says we should sweep the dead leaves on the pavement/gutter around our property. I never bother as a few others too. When it rains, they all get washed away down the storm drains anyway. I received a complaint letter once, to which I replied "you also say we should upkeep the pavement, yet there are at least 15 houses with broken pavements due to tree root activity. This is far more of a risk to people than a few dead leaves. Fix that then I'll clean the leaves."

The guy had turf, but it went brown due to lack of watering. And so frikkin what? Buy a tonne of weed seed, if it exists, and sprinkle it all over. Those little suckers grow in concrete. Surely they don't say your lawn has to be perfect? Just green.

[fuzebox]

I think someone needs to drive through the complex with a few super soakers filled with gasoline and ruin some more lawns...

[421Fill]

Originally Posted by fuzebox

I think someone needs to drive through the complex with a few super soakers filled with gasoline and ruin some more lawns...

seriously? damage the people's lawns that followed the rules? what if your lawn was damaged cuz some crusty old dude didn't follow the rules?

[sicone]

Homeowners association's can be a bitch.

[pornguy]

Stupid as hell and wasting tax dollars, but he went against a court order.

[L-Pink]

There is more to the story than this ...... Any neighborhood with deed restrictions like that and the commitment to enforce them must be pretty nice. What kind of sane person would let his lawn go because he can't afford a $10.00 sprinkler. I'm sure one of immediate neighbors would loan him one for a couple hours a day. Plus in Florida it rains pretty regularly.

Restrictions like that are meant to preserve property values. Fuck him .... hope his cell mate is into GILF ......


.

[The Duck]

o gosh......

[seeandsee]

OMg this is crazy!

[Morient]

Nothing that a little astro turf wouldn't solve.

[abadfish]

It's outrageous that he was jailed for this but at the same time it's not that hard to maintain a lawn. You don't need to purchase sod when a rake and some cheap grass seed would easily accomplish the same thing.

[TheDoc]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

There is more to the story than this ...... Any neighborhood with deed restrictions like that and the commitment to enforce them must be pretty nice. What kind of sane person would let his lawn go because he can't afford a $10.00 sprinkler. I'm sure one of immediate neighbors would loan him one for a couple hours a day. Plus in Florida it rains pretty regularly.

Restrictions like that are meant to preserve property values. Fuck him .... hope his cell mate is into GILF ......


.

If you have no money, your car was taken because you have no money, your house payment goes up because of the type of loan you have. You can't fight it in court because you have no money... $10 is like $100,000 to them..

Sodding a yard is $1000's of dollars too and a broken sprinkler system can easily be $100's of dollars, that's if you can do it yourself.

If a person is broke, they don't ever deserve to go to jail for it... period.

It's stupid for the association to go through all this, through court, then end up sodding it for him, fine him more, on money he doesn't have. When they could have prob spent $1000's less and just did the yard for him from the start.


In his case, once out of Jail, I would dig all the sod up and burn it..

[DarkJedi]

His lawn doesn't even look that bad.

When you move into 'hoods with associations and covenants, you get fucked because there is always at least one uptight prick with nothing better to do than serve as a mini Hitler on the community

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by TheDoc

If you have no money, your car was taken because you have no money, your house payment goes up because of the type of loan you have. You can't fight it in court because you have no money... $10 is like $100,000 to them..

Sodding a yard is $1000's of dollars too and a broken sprinkler system can easily be $100's of dollars, that's if you can do it yourself.

If a person is broke, they don't ever deserve to go to jail for it... period.

It's stupid for the association to go through all this, through court, then end up sodding it for him, fine him more, on money he doesn't have. When they could have prob spent $1000's less and just did the yard for him from the start.


In his case, once out of Jail, I would dig all the sod up and burn it..

All true ... but he could/should have borrowed one. And after all this is in Florida not Arizona. I think he was just trying to prove a point, was being stubborn and the association responded in kind.


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[Sly]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

All true ... but he could/should have borrowed one. And after all this is in Florida not Arizona. I think he was just trying to prove a point, was being stubborn and the association responded in kind.


.

Borrowed what exactly? It sounds like they were under financial pressure and nobody would have given them money.

Anyway, I think it's pretty crazy that he went to jail and I definitely do not like HOA's, but it's not like this guy was completely innocent. He was sent notices for months and simply ignored them. Financial hardship is not just an excuse to get out of everything... everyone can have "financial hardship". It sucks, but deal with it or at least create a solution.

The ideal solution, to me, seems that the HOA should pay to have it fixed as sort of a "loan" with some restrictions and guidelines. The yard gets fixed, neighbors are happy, grandpa isn't in jail, public resources are not wasted, and the HOA actually makes itself useful.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by Sly

Borrowed what exactly? It sounds like they were under financial pressure and nobody would have given them money.

Anyway, I think it's pretty crazy that he went to jail and I definitely do not like HOA's, but it's not like this guy was completely innocent. He was sent notices for months and simply ignored them. Financial hardship is not just an excuse to get out of everything... everyone can have "financial hardship". It sucks, but deal with it or at least create a solution.

The ideal solution, to me, seems that the HOA should pay to have it fixed as sort of a "loan" with some restrictions and guidelines. The yard gets fixed, neighbors are happy, grandpa isn't in jail, public resources are not wasted, and the HOA actually makes itself useful.

The article states he lived in the house since 1998 and the grass withered after his sprinkler broke. I mean what the fuck, use your thumb on the hose, borrow a nozzle or buy one for 50 cents at a garage sale.


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[kichi]

this is not an outrage. This is absolutely great news. I wish they would put all the poor white trash in my nieghborhood in jail for their shitty ass front years. Instead they go back and forth to court every 6 months pleading how they cant take care of their own fuckinn lawn.

Fixing an irragation system has nothing to do with money. Its LAZINESS. pvc pipes and fittings are $2 each.

Fucking lazy bastard doesnt give a fuck about bringing down the values of the hosues around him cause he is too fucking lazy to dig a fucking ditch and fix his irragation.

ROT IN JAIL YOU PIECE OF SHIT.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by kichi

this is not an outrage. This is absolutely great news. I wish they would put all the poor white trash in my nieghborhood in jail for their shitty ass front years. Instead they go back and forth to court every 6 months pleading how they cant take care of their own fuckinn lawn.

Fixing an irragation system has nothing to do with money. Its LAZINESS. pvc pipes and fittings are $2 each.

Fucking lazy bastard doesnt give a fuck about bringing down the values of the hosues around him cause he is too fucking lazy to dig a fucking ditch and fix his irragation.

ROT IN JAIL YOU PIECE OF SHIT.

lol ... what kind of lazy ass can't grow grass in Florida?


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[DixieDash]

That's just messed up. Way to spend taxes! On a poor old man who couldn't afford his grass... I don't care if people want to follow the law to a T, there should be clauses and crap for certain situations that should allow empathy and understanding to prevail in such cases.

[Sly]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

The article states he lived in the house since 1998 and the grass withered after his sprinkler broke. I mean what the fuck, use your thumb on the hose, borrow a nozzle or buy one for 50 cents at a garage sale.


.

Considering his whole family just moved in... it isn't like this is an old feeble man that can't get any housework done.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by DixieDash

That's just messed up. Way to spend taxes! On a poor old man who couldn't afford his grass... I don't care if people want to follow the law to a T, there should be clauses and crap for certain situations that should allow empathy and understanding to prevail in such cases.

What? Please feel sorry for me my sprinkler doesn't work?

[kichi]

Originally Posted by abadfish

It's outrageous that he was jailed for this but at the same time it's not that hard to maintain a lawn. You don't need to purchase sod when a rake and some cheap grass seed would easily accomplish the same thing.

you obviosuly dont live in Florida. You cant plant grass with seed. you have to buy sod. its $100 a pallet for 500 sq ft.

but regardless, this mother fucker signed an agreement and knew he had to keep his lawn looking good when moving into this neighborhood. He was just a lazy old man.

I fix everytones irragation systems in my neighborhood for free cause plumbing is actually fun for me. I mkae them do the digging. this way everyoens lawn looks great on my street and keeps the whole street looking better then the other streets, raising the value of my house.

Bootm line is, he is lazy. All he had to do was ask a few neighbors for help, i gaurantee you one of them would have helped him, unless hes a mean old timer.

[L-Pink]

I think if most people here had a NICE old person living next door that needed very minor help with his lawn upkeep we would gladly help. This sounds like some crotchety old fuck that doesn't give a shit and years of neglect has ruined his yard.

[DixieDash]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

What? Please feel sorry for me my sprinkler doesn't work?

In this economy why not? He's in jail because he would rather pay for a place to live rather than pay for grass. However I do agree with some of you. He could have asked for help and found a cheap alternative to watering his lawn, although I thought sprinklers were reasonably priced. I'm just saying it is a ridiculous reason for an old man to go to jail. If you are unable to stick to the terms of your living arrangement then you might as well move because the terms remain the same. I think he wasted his time ignoring the warnings and it is his fault he is in jail for doing it so blatantly. Still, it is a waste of tax payers money.

[DixieDash]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

I think if most people here had a NICE old person living next door that needed very minor help with his lawn upkeep we would gladly help. This sounds like some crotchety old fuck that doesn't give a shit and years of neglect has ruined his yard.

I get what your saying

[Phoenix]

amazed at some of the responses here

well i shouldnt be, but i am

[borked]

This has to be the first time someone has done time for not doing grass.

[DarkJedi]

This guy is old and is going to die soon anyway. His life could be made useful if he bought a Glock 17 and executed the association at their next meeting.

[fuzebox]

Originally Posted by 421Fill

seriously? damage the people's lawns that followed the rules? what if your lawn was damaged cuz some crusty old dude didn't follow the rules?

You know what, you're right... And after reading some other responses I'm siding with the HOA now. That's what I get for skimming an article a few minutes after waking up...

[Libertine]

The replies in this thread are sickening.

Honestly, you people are what's wrong with this world.

[Brujah]

No one should go to jail for this. Let me say that again. No one should be put in jail for having an imperfect lawn. Now, take a better look at that photo. That lawn puts a grandfather with a heart condition in jail indefinitely WITHOUT BAIL until it's green again because he couldn't afford sod. There was no indication that anyone even tried to help him or work with him. People in this thread are making a lot of assumptions. The costs involved in keeping him in jail, etc.. at taxpayer expense are adding up.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by Brujah

No one should go to jail for this. Let me say that again. No one should be put in jail for having an imperfect lawn. Now, take a better look at that photo. That lawn puts a grandfather with a heart condition in jail indefinitely WITHOUT BAIL until it's green again because he couldn't afford sod. There was no indication that anyone even tried to help him or work with him. People in this thread are making a lot of assumptions. The costs involved in keeping him in jail, etc.. at taxpayer expense are adding up.

Incorrect. He is in jail for contempt of court.

[kane]

It sounds like he didn't bother showing up to court. You would think he could have represented himself in court and just explained his situation to the judge and the judge would most likely have, if not sided with him, given him some options or helped to work out some kind of an agreement.

Anytime you just give the finger to the court they don't respond well.

All that said, it is a pretty shitty thing to do when someone is having trouble and the home owners association sues you. Whoever heads that association should be punched in the face by Kimbo.

[Brujah]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Incorrect. He is in jail for contempt of court.

That's the culmination of the original problem. The contempt charge is because he couldn't afford to pay for it, which the judge ordered. It shouldn't have been taken this far and that goes for all parties not just the grandfather. The HOA seems inefficient to me and would rather spend a lot of money and cost the taxpayers instead, while in the meantime the lawn is still the same but now the grandfather is unable to do much about it while he's in jail without bail.

[jacked]

so in a time of economic crisis in this country the guy is stuck between a rock and a hard place, does he not pay his mortgage and lose the home that he just re-sodded or does he continue to pay his mortgage and wait until he has the money to do his lawn without sacrificing his home, obviously he's having financial troubles if his car got repoed

putting sod down on an entire home can be quite expensive especially when they want the front and backyards done, and who's to say the sod will keep especially because his sprinkler system is broken which i'm sure is also quite out of reach for this guy to fix. the sod would just brown up and die and then they'd be filing another complaint and he'd be god only knows how many months behind on mortgage payments.

and good luck getting a bank to lend you money to sod your lawn especially when your getting shit repoed

so basically they are fucking this guy no matter how you look at it if i was him i'd tell them to fuck off too

and then they hit him with $800 in fines so what do they expect i'm sure he didn't have that money to just dish out either

our entire justice system is fucked..... the prison system is a money making machine and as long as they keep the people and money flowing all the cocksuckers are happy

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by Brujah

That's the culmination of the original problem. The contempt charge is because he couldn't afford to pay for it, which the judge ordered. It shouldn't have been taken this far and that goes for all parties not just the grandfather. The HOA seems inefficient to me and would rather spend a lot of money and cost the taxpayers instead, while in the meantime the lawn is still the same but now the grandfather is unable to do much about it while he's in jail without bail.

The day his sprinklers broke he made the decision to allow the most valuable asset he will ever own to gradually lose it's value. BECAUSE HE WOULDN"T WATER HIS LAWN!

Why should the neighbors have to put up with his shit?

[Sly]

Originally Posted by Brujah

That's the culmination of the original problem. The contempt charge is because he couldn't afford to pay for it, which the judge ordered. It shouldn't have been taken this far and that goes for all parties not just the grandfather. The HOA seems inefficient to me and would rather spend a lot of money and cost the taxpayers instead, while in the meantime the lawn is still the same but now the grandfather is unable to do much about it while he's in jail without bail.

It sounds like they sent him several letters and he simply never replied... what should they have done instead? Like I said, I think it's a total waste of resources what happened... but based on the information given, I don't see how this guy is simply some innocent being getting screwed. He did not reply to multiple requests. If I don't pay my rent and after multiple requests, regardless of my financial situation, guess what happens? The court gets involved.

[aico]

LOL. Why don't they just buy him a lawn? Seems cheaper than the costs of keeping him in jail.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by jacked

so in a time of economic crisis in this country the guy is stuck between a rock and a hard place, does he not pay his mortgage and lose the home that he just re-sodded or does he continue to pay his mortgage and wait until he has the money to do his lawn without sacrificing his home, obviously he's having financial troubles if his car got repoed

putting sod down on an entire home can be quite expensive especially when they want the front and backyards done, and who's to say the sod will keep especially because his sprinkler system is broken which i'm sure is also quite out of reach for this guy to fix. the sod would just brown up and die and then they'd be filing another complaint and he'd be god only knows how many months behind on mortgage payments.

and good luck getting a bank to lend you money to sod your lawn especially when your getting shit repoed

so basically they are fucking this guy no matter how you look at it if i was him i'd tell them to fuck off too

and then they hit him with $800 in fines so what do they expect i'm sure he didn't have that money to just dish out either

our entire justice system is fucked..... the prison system is a money making machine and as long as they keep the people and money flowing all the cocksuckers are happy

Jacked, plastic pvc is basically free at Lowe's if he had a buried system. A hose and sprinkler can be had for twenty bucks.

WTF?

[L-Pink]

It hasn't rained here all week. I'm going outside and water my bushes. Goodnight!

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

It hasn't rained here all week. I'm going outside and water my bushes. Goodnight!

On second thought I'll just let them die and spend thousands next year replacing them.




Nah, I'll do the normal thing .......... Goodnight.

[jacked]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Jacked, plastic pvc is basically free at Lowe's if he had a buried system. A hose and sprinkler can be had for twenty bucks.

WTF?

yeah it's just thats easy... i'm sure anyone can dismantle a sprinkler system and put a new one in... especially when theirs usually town codes involved with burying pipes underground

not to mention the work involved

if they allow him to have a hose and sprinkler attachment thats another story

but cmon you can sit here all day and try to justify the bullshit at the end of the day the guy is 60 something, broke, and just trying to get by with his family...

what 60 year old do you know could go out dig up his entire lawn, replace the sprinkler system and so on...

he's a fucking old man they want the lawn replaced they should have replaced it and put him into collections so he could make payments he can't afford that shit in one lump sum obviously...

what landscaper do you know that's willing to put 5-10k out of pocket to spot someone for their lawn...

[After Shock Media]

Move into a HOA area and you get what you deserve. Nobody is ever forced into buying a house in such an area, often where everything is very damn rule bound.

A court also needs teeth. If the courts can not enforce their rulings then there really is no point in having them. Everyone could just keep ignoring court orders.

The HOA is not just after him, it is their job to represent everyone in the HOA that owns property. One messed up lawn, even if it just has some brown spots and a bit weedy does effect others property values. Other people who have done nothing wrong at all and are loosing value on their property and often largest investment.

Recovering costs associated with enforcing codes and rules is only fair. Why should the association be out of pocket for doing what is required of them enforcing rules everyone agreed to in the first place? If they could not collect their costs then anyone could just keep challenging them without much concern wasting the HOA's money.

Paying for his lawn would be cheaper than going after him anyways. Why should they? Would you repair the neighbors car out of your pocket because it has been sitting on the street for months now on blocks, since that would be cheaper than taking them to court? If you answer yes, then shouldn't there also be plenty of such neighbors or people who hear of this story who would go fix the issue for him, hold a fundraiser, etc. Hell I would reason to bet it could be some great free advertising for some lawn company to jump on. Though hell, it is better to get all up in the HOA's and courts ass right?

[TheDoc]

Ok, I agree the guy could have just watered his lawn, or put up a walker sprinkler at least.

But replacing or correcting a sprinkler system, is not cheap. Ours cost around $4k, each head in the back yard is $45 each. If you get those water flow ones, they can be $100-$150 each. It costs about $50 to add a new garden. When an underground line broke, it was about $100 just in parts, before labor, and new sod.

It's something like $1.25 per sq foot for a sprinkler system, and about $50 per 50 feet for drippers.

I wouldn't say it's cheap for someone that can't afford a car. But a garden hose damn sure is

[PornMD]

He chose where he wanted to live. He chose the shitty mortgage he that he got. It IS a waste of taxpayer's money but shit - if you have a court order to resod your lawn, meaning you would face jail time if you don't, you scrap together the money to do it - that or sell the house and rent an apartment somewhere where it wouldn't be an issue. If they had done this without warning and it wasn't written into his HOA agreement, I could see where he'd have an excuse, but he really doesn't. He dug his own hole and didn't get out of the way before someone pushed him into it. Tough shit.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by jacked

what 60 year old do you know could go out dig up his entire lawn, replace the sprinkler system and so on...

he's a fucking old man they want the lawn replaced they should have replaced it and put him into collections so he could make payments he can't afford that shit in one lump sum obviously...

what landscaper do you know that's willing to put 5-10k out of pocket to spot someone for their lawn...

What 60 year old? Lots of them. 60 is not that old. Just about all of the most "handy do it yourselfers" are 60 to 80+ years old. Often you have to about tie them up so they do not go out and do such things, if you feel they are just to damn old. Besides he has a daughter that could also dig or perform the hard on you manual labor.

A damn sprinkler system and sod does not cost no 5-10k out of pocket to a landscaper. Especially for a lawn his size which is almost a postage stamp compared to many. Labor wise it is about 200-400 bucks. Sod wise it is about 200-500 bucks. Parts wise for a broken sprinkler system is about a 1-50 bucks. All in all it would come out under a grand in about any case, out of pocket for a landscaper. My wife has only been doing such crap for several years. Only huge variance could be what is broken in the sprinkler system. Unless the control panel went out though, it would be cheap to fix. If it was the control panel then manual override still works.