69°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

Trashed house boarded up, homeowner's family steps in following 2 On Your Side reports

2 months 2 weeks 6 days ago Thursday, July 25 2024 Jul 25, 2024 July 25, 2024 8:29 PM July 25, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - This month, 2 On Your Side has been following a story about a house that's been trashed and is attracting the homeless.

Monday morning, neighbors reported to Brittany Weiss that the property was being boarded up and cleaned of debris.

The house is in a neighborhood off of Bluebonnet Boulevard near I-10. The property owner, Austin Duszynski, appeared before Blight Court Thursday to answer to a judge about junk, trash, and debris violations.

In a surprise twist, Duszynski's mother was also in attendance and approached the podium to address the judge. Alicia Thomas says her husband has been working to clean and board up the property on Houston Drive.

"We have been on him for years about this," said Thomas.

Thomas says they have hired someone to haul off the debris and have arranged for a hazmat crew to clean up the inside. She also said Duszynski would be signing the property over to his parents.

Cory Bech lives a few houses down from Duszynski. He took a video of the inside of the house when he went to find the person who damaged his mailbox. That video was posted on social media and has attracted several hundred comments.

"There's a man who lives there that goes around the neighborhood and beats up mailboxes," said Bech.

Timothy Willieman was arrested on July 4 on several charges. He is being held on a $4,500 bond. Neighbors report multiple run-ins with Willeman that involve nudity and erratic behavior. Shawn Sellars said Willeman had been seen peeking into windows and entering homes without invitation.

"He went into the refrigerator, took out a beer, opened the beer, and sat down at their island," said Sellars.

Over the past few years, Sellars has watched as homeless have visited the house on Houston Drive daily. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, EMS, and St. George Fire Department have visited the house several times this year. EBRSO was there this week after a neighbor called for help. EBRSO could not find evidence of anything criminal.

Cleanup at the property will continue over the next week and neighbors are happy to see the change but are reluctant to celebrate.

"We have homeless people coming in and out of the neighborhood every day," said Sellars.

Duszynski was fined $250 plus court costs for the blight violations. The property also failed a condemnation inspection earlier this week. The city will reinspect the property in 10 days to check the progress. 

Behind the property on Houston Drive, DOTD found two large holes in the sound wall separating the lot and the interstate. A crew was at the location Thursday morning making repairs.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days