dedicated to getting results 8i team now
to our news for Jax I team investigation
the streetwalker wall we do want to warn
you some of what you're about to see and
hear may not be appropriate for children
we are talking to residents who say they
are now in trouble with the City of
Jacksonville for building a barrier to
keep prostitutes and drug activity out
of their front yards you may recall four
weeks ago we showed you children walking
to and from school on the same sidewalks
as prostitutes in woodland acres and in
Jacksonville Heights you heard from
neighbors fed up with the prostitution
transactions taking place right outside
their front door
homeowners insisted that the i-team come
back out warning police to do more
saying the situation isn't any better
adding that the city is focusing on the
wrong problem we'll find needles and a
very lot of condoms all over this
neighborhood Fred and Lorie Bianco say
their breaking point was when they
pulled into their own driveway and saw a
John picking up a prostitute and we've
seen him get away my older brother's
wife and my wife were coming back to
somewhere she was getting picked up
right here in my driveway the prostitute
a prostitute making matters worse they
say is what the men often leave behind
we saw two of these in the grass across
from their house the couple says they've
contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff's
Office multiple times but the
prostitution hasn't slowed down we've
been told that unless they physically
catch them in the act of doing something
unlawful there's nothing that they can
do so instead the two decided to take
matters into their own hands building
the six-foot fence around their three
properties they say the fence keeps the
drugs and sex on the other side of the
wall it makes me angry
I've lived in Jacksonville my entire
life I've lived in Duval County my
entire life I've lived here for almost
30 years my grandchildren are not safe
to come and play in my yard to you know
experience being part of our family in
the neighborhood that their parents grew
up in because we have to do
with this everyday the bianco say
they're furious that they were recently
cited by code compliance with the City
of Jacksonville because their fence
exceeds height requirements we checked
and the city has issued three separate
warning citations the case is scheduled
for a status update in the coming days
the bianco say the city's focus is on
the wrong thing got their priorities all
messed up thank you the prostitution the
criminal activity and they need to get a
handle on that and not worry so much
about a fence height especially on a
law-abiding citizen one I'm grateful
that this story was brought forward
because it really gave me a chance to
reach out to our zone commander
councilman Terrence Freeman wouldn't
comment on the couple's specific code
violations saying the compliance
Department is separate from his duties
but he wants residents to know police
are doing their best first things Jaso
advise me I was the one that they know
they're there that there they are
they're vice team has made that a major
priority across town on the south side
in woodland acres we saw police
patrolling acme street but watch what
happens as soon as the officers leave
just 15 minutes later we saw women
residents suspect our prostitutes
walking the streets again and getting
into cars we talked to you a few weeks
ago about these women walking in the
streets have things gotten better um no
it seems like it has gotten worse and
it's just not good for like little kids
like us just see that tinder Oh Jaden
walls whose mom wanted us to interview
her is referring to what we witnessed as
the elementary school student was
walking home from school with her sister
and Friends a woman acting erratically
has parents concerned about possible
drug use along the route their children
walked to and from school parents say
they don't know what to do when I pick
my son up from school she was just high
and um I told my son to get in the house
you know cuz I didn't want him to see
that person it was really scary we saw a
few officers in the neighborhood earlier
are they doing enough
in my personal open you know because
I've reported them myself I've called
them out here myself and just lightly
said they can only do so much and then
they're just right back out here the
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
once again declined an on-camera
interview with the i-team but told us in
a previous statement that they are
conducting covert operations
now we also spoke to Councilwoman Joyce
Morgan about her district and woodland
acres and what you saw those school
children are exposed to every day she
told me police can't fix the problem
alone she says the women themselves have
to want to live a clean life and take
advantage of the resources that are
offered to them when they're arrested
like counseling and drug treatment
programs