Downtown Oldsmar families ‘fear for their safety’ as nasty neighbors make their lives miserable
Anyone who has ever lived in a densely populated residential area has probably felt that sense of dread whenever new neighbors move in next door.
In fact, there’s a slew of movies, books and magazine articles dedicated to the subject of nasty neighbors.
For several families in downtown Oldsmar, the fear of new neighbors disrupting their serene, everyday lives became a reality last fall, as a group of young men with little regard for social niceties rented a small, single family residence on Park Boulevard in October, turning what used to be Mayberry 2.0 into ground zero of nasty neighborly behavior.
“They came in with a bang,” Dave Murray, a married father of two who has lived in his current home since 2010, recently told Oldsmar Connect.
“They all have large trucks, and they were racing down Park Boulevard. My wife and I were like, ‘oh boy.’”
Murray said he tried to welcome the newcomers to the neighborhood, but his attempts at keeping the peace fell on deaf ears.
“I extended them a lot of grace,” he said. “We started very civil, we exchanged phone numbers. Everything was okay for about 60 days.”
“But then the parties ramped up in the winter, and they would ride their four wheelers in the backyard and blast the stereo. They’d use our yard as a parking lot, so we extended our fence to the street. They repeatedly damaged the fence, drove up to the driveway and revved their engines. At one point a guy jumped out of his truck and raised his arms while coming towards my wife. That’s when things really started to get serious and I knew there was a real problem here.”
Unfortunately, the problems escalated from there.
According to Murray, in addition to the noise and partying and street racing, the renters painted offensive slogans on their vehicles and in their driveway, and they even tagged a wall at nearby R.E. Olds Park and carved a racially charged acronym onto a tree in their front yard.
“They spray-painted ‘F— You’ in their driveway,” Murray said. “The day after, he put a sticker on his back window that said ‘Keep Calm and Go F— Yourself’ and parked it in front of our window.”
The taunting then took a more permanent turn.
“They first spray painted “WFO,” which we were told stands for White Folks Only, on their driveway, but after code enforcement told them they couldn’t paint on the driveway, they carved it into a tree because evidently that wasn’t against City code,” Murray said.
“And I have evidence they spray painted on a wall at R.E. Olds Park on the Tuesday after Memorial Day after they overheard a neighbor refer to them as “the gross people” during a discussion in our yard.”
“It’s an unreal situation to be in.”
Worried that things would only get worse and fearing for his family’s safety, Murray and other disgruntled neighbors used every legal tactic available to get the rowdy nearby noisemakers to cease and desist their disruptive behavior, including calling the landlord, who claimed the situation was out of his control, as well as Code Enforcement officials and meeting with law enforcement officers.
“We met with the (Community Patrol Officers), and they started patrolling the neighborhood, answering calls to the house and writing citations,” Murray said.
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing the cops can really do unless we can prove they’re really doing this to harm us.”
Fed up with after more than eight months of disruptive activity that included snarling dogs, roaring bonfires, ATV races in the backyard, revving engines, driving the wrong way down the street, loud music, trespassing, vandalism, “disgusting” language and messages and gunshots, Murray took his problem to the Oldsmar City Council in June, where he begged city officials for any kind of assistance.
“I have an unfortunate neighbor situation that I wanted to bring up to you all,” Murray said during the Citizens Open Forum on June 6.
“We’ve really exhausted our efforts as to who we can contact and we just can’t really get much help…so my wife and I are looking for advice on what to do.”
While the council members expressed sympathy for Murray and his neighbors’ situation, they conceded there was little they could do, legally, about the renters’ actions.
“We’re a free country, and they’re allowed to be idiots if they want to,” Mayor Doug Bevis said, noting he had received a text message about the vandalism at the park.
“But if they’re breaking laws or breaking codes or vandalizing property, that’s where we can step in.”
Council members and downtown residents Jerry Beverland and Gabby McGee both expressed disgust at the situation.
“What I don’t understand is why we haven’t been able to get the homeowner to address it,” McGee said.
“I know there’s laws and constitutions, but if it were me and I had a child and lived next door to that, I would move if the City could not help me.”
“It’s sad. It really is sad when you have to live next door to…whatever,” Beverland said, adding, “They have freedoms? So do I!”
McGee then promised that something would be done to help ensure these kinds of actions aren’t allowed to go without punishment in the future.
“There’s something that can be done, we just have to figure out what it is we can do,” she said, noting changes to the City code could be on the list of fixes.
About a month after the meeting, Deputy Cindy Kakalow of the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office organized a mediation session between the tenants, the property owner, Bujar Shala, and Murray and his father representing the group of afflicted neighbors.
During the two-and-a-half-hour session, Murray presented letters from his neighbors detailing the effects of 10 months of mayhem.
“When we purchased our home 2 ½ years ago we were delighted to live on a beautiful, quiet, family friendly street (qualities that we believed exemplified Oldsmar),” a letter from Park Boulevard homeowner Kristy Kielich read.
“However 10 months ago that atmosphere completely changed and continues to deteriorate due to the tenants.”
Kielich went on to detail behavior that included the tenants being “in the front yard drinking alcohol or standing on their roof, swearing, loudly partying” and “yelling at police officers who have been called out to stop their miscreant activities.”
Kielich concluded the letter by stating,” After many promises to become better neighbors it is evident that they have no intentions on keeping their word, changing their ways, or at the very least stop harassing our neighborhood. I am deeply concerned for my family’s personal safety, as well as my neighbors.”
A similar note from Robert and Gwen Campbell stated “We do hope that these issues can be addressed and taken seriously. When it comes to the safety of ourselves and our family we have been the victims.”
After the session, it appeared the emotional pleas might finally have had an effect, as the landlord exited the meeting with a new attitude about his tenants.
“I told them they’re bringing problems, and if they don’t stop, they have to get out,” Shala, who goes by Billy, told Oldsmar Connect outside the Council Chambers building on July 18.
“I can’t take sides until I see it, but if it doesn’t change, they have to get out. I’m not a babysitter.”
Shala, a Safety Harbor resident who owns several rental properties, went on to say he is renting the 2,000-sq.-ft. Park Boulevard home for a song to a family friend who has been down on his luck.
“They’re barely paying anything—like $400 a month,” he said. “But (he) has a lot of problems—his mom’s in jail, and he was sleeping in his truck—and I didn’t want him to fall into trouble again.”
But Shala said charity can only go so far, and he promised any more run-ins with law enforcement and/or the neighbors would earn the renters a quick exit.
“Now they’re bringing this kind of stuff, it’s too much,” he said. “I told them if it doesn’t stop, you gotta get out.”
“I feel bad that they put the City through this. I feel like I’m investing to make money but this time I invested in trouble and I don’t want that.”
Law enforcement officials expressed optimism the situation would finally be resolved.
“The meeting lasted two-and-a-half hours, and the end result was a success,” PCSO Public Information Officer Cpl. Daniel DiFrancisco told Oldsmar Connect via phone last week.
“The deputies say all parties involved had a verbal dialog and stated they would be open to better lines of communication. The deputies will continue to monitor the situation and check in with both parties to ensure compliance. The deputies also stated that violations would still be strictly enforced.”
When asked if he felt this was the end of the dispute, Murray was cautiously optimistic.
“Overall it was good,” he said of the session. “They admitted they’re doing everything on purpose to irritate us, and they said they understand it’s time to grow up.
“Billy told me if they act up again, they’re out,” he added. “My dad said he deduced a different tone this time, but I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Indeed, when pressed if he believed his tenants would really cut the clownish behavior, Shala gave a telling response.
“I hope so,” he said. “But I don’t know.”
UPDATE: Since the mediation session, Murray said his neighbors’ harassing behavior has continued, as their dogs have been coming into his yard, promises of a new fence have been unfulfilled, and Shala is refusing to return phone messages.
“A bit better, a lot of the same old same old,” Murray said in a text message on August 1.
Ed. Note: The names of the renters and the exact addresses of the involved parties have not been identified in this piece due to the volatile nature of the situation.
This is bull who wrote this? Some of this is a lie please call me! 8133005495
This landlord has to step it up. The murray’s are an awesome family, very helpful, caring people. I have used them for my car repair for years and they have always helped me graciously and helping me when I was a single mom with 3 kids get my car on the road..> They are amazing family and don’t deserve this…
Most of this is a lie can’t believe everything you read
Wow. Dave Murray is the “nasty neighbor”. The fence with the hole in it is HIS fence that he refuses to fix and denys any of his neighbors attempts to fix it from their side. This article is completely one sided and blown out of proportion. WFO doesn’t stand for “white folks only” but Dave Murray assumes the worst while he sneaks around taking pictures of other people’s property. This is a joke.
wfo stands for Westcoast Florida Offroad GET YOUR SHIT STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU POST UNTRUTHS .ALSO HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE RACE’S ON THAT ROAD WITH 4 COPS LIVING RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM YOU ? WORRY ABOUT YOUR YARD AN YOUR DRIVEWAY AN YOUR SIDE OF THE FENCE , THIS IS AMERICA ,LAND OF THE FREE ,WHAT ARE YOU A COMMIE? YOU DON’T LIKE BIG TRUCKS FOUR WHEELER’S AN PARTIES ………COME ON DUDE LIGHTEN UP..FEAR FOR YOUR FAMILY THAT’S ALITTLE FAR OUT THERE DON’T YOU THINK…..CALL 911 IF ITS TO MUCH…IT SOUND’S LIKE YOUR LOOKING FOR A CLEAN SHOOT TO ME OVER WHAT , A FEW KIDS THAT WORK AN WANT TO HAVE FUN ? PRETTY WEAK . THE DOGS I UNDER STAND IF THEY ARE OUT OF CONTROL AN BARKING BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS REALLY WEAK
When you remove bark from a tree, you effectively kill the tree. If that’s an offroading term, that’s better than the alternative. But carving up a tree? Really?
WFO stands for Wide Fucking Open. Like full throttle lmfao trust me on that one
I live at this house I own the green gmc and the white dodge. We never Vandalize The wall or ever shot a gun in our back yard, wfo stands for west Florida off-road. It’s kind of sad how y’all can take one person side and post this. Half this s stuff is false but yes we ride quads in our back yard before but before half these people believe everything you read. Get information from both parties. We’ve done everything to be civilized but it’s never good enough so have a nice day, and y’all are quick to judge big trucks and assume we know everyone with a big truck that drives through oldsmar. So before you judge a book by its cover get your facts right
I am absolutely Blown Away how this f****** moron neighbor of yours keeps changing this article because he can’t keep his f****** story straight first of all this is a one-sided only until you get both parties then the article should be posted until then and seeing your fear in your f****** life dude I never met a stupid ass moron in my life no one fears you and you know it you keep saying all these negative things to get everybody on your f****** side making everybody feel sorry for you and blah blah blah blah blah first of all no one feel sorry for you I hope someone does torture your ass and then you’ll really see what it’s like to be tortured instead of talking s*** and fear in your life before you post anything tell the truth first of all kids are going to be kids but they’re not doing anything that you’re saying they’re doing the reason why you’re doing this is because you live in a 500 f****** thousand-dollar house and supposedly you don’t like the white trash rednecks next door cuz they don’t meet your expectations well let me tell you something Buddy get over it and live with it because they’re not going nowhere so the last laugh is going to be on you when everything comes out the truth I don’t care how you take this I hope you live and learn from your lies and I don’t want you to have a nice day cuz you don’t f****** deserve it since you can’t tell the truth dumbass
I know the tenants at this property, I can tell you that they would never hurt anyone and the fact that neighbors are “fearing for their families lives” is taking it a little too far. I know these
people and there is nothing to be afraid of. I think the neighbors need to mind their own business to a certain extent and try worrying about themselves instead of the actions of their neighbors.
Also I might add, most of the serious things that you would be cringing at in this article aren’t even true. The spray painted wall is irrelevant based on the fact that there is no actual evidence and vandalism is not in the tenants nature. Also, gun shots? These people don’t own guns and I know for a fact there hasn’t been one gun shot heard from their property. Get your facts straight.
Yes I am billy the land lord…this neighbor is being annoying and can’t seem to be honest! His stories have changed multiple times! Creeps my facebook post pictures of my family… Finds out where I live…has someone wait for me to ask questions after a meeting we had! We spoke for 2 1/2 hours with sheriffs and the city council and we came to agreements and then behind our backs he makes a news article! My tenants will live at the house for as LONG as they want
Your tenants spray painted your driveway, carved your tree, & drive quads in your backyard & you’re good with that?! You respond with “they can stay as long as they want”? Wow, just wow. Your house is going to be trashed if/when you ever get them out.
Listen all because you Believe everything you read doesn’t mean you can judge Billy the way he runs things at his own house
you just make Billy more famous lol if you don’t want to see them build a big wall like in berlin germany those walls they call him German wall if you don’t want to hear they noise by some beats lol
I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but it seems you can’t differentiate that Mr. Murray is not the author. The author clearly credits where all the photos came from and cited nearly everything else. It also appears that Mr. Murray spoke to City Council and that you didn’t.
Your attacks are misguided and you are blaming the wrong side of this. All your statements are grievances with the author.
I wrote an email to City Council asking them to release their videos. Having been at the meeting, there is no exaggeration being portrayed. It is all documented from multiple people’s videos.
Preeeeetty sure they spray painted “fuck you” on the driveway though. Isn’t that part true?
I think its important to have respect for your neighbors . Having said that ,How can you think that riding quads in a neighborhood where the houses are so close is not disrespectful. How can spray painting anything within your neighborhood be acceptable. Kids probably live in the area. Revving large engines in an area where houses are so close is absolutely unacceptable. If these people want to make a lot of noise why don’t they do it in an area where they have a lot of land , so they can do what they want. I am all for having the freedom to do what you want , but not when it takes away from the quality of life of others . It’s just about having basic human respect.
Yep believe what you want. But how come everyone else can make noise in the neighborhood. But when we do it’s a crime. By 7pm there’s no noise from our house. But go ahead believe everything you read. But Murray came over to out house last night and said the writer twisted his words against us. And law inforcemnt called me this morning and said city’s and them are upset that this was pump listed and that they will take further notes to take this down. So don’t believe every dump writer has to say
Downtown Oldsmar has so much potential. I’ve seen all of this activity in neighborhood and it’s unacceptable. Not from this particular house because I do not live on this street. The homes in the neighborhood are all too close to run quads, have bon fires, big loud parties and what not. Anthony, you say you’re done making noise by 7pm. What about the family sitting down for dinner @ 5? Do you think it’s okay for them to hear a loud quad whipping by their window? What about the guy who work nights? What about a child who has asthma? Do you think it’s okay for smoke from your bon fire to go into his home? What about the family who saved for many years to come up with a down payment to purchase a home? (You probably wouldn’t know anything about that.) It’s because of people like you and your landlord that property values are so low in downtown Oldsmar. I’m all for freedom but you do not have the right to infringe on everyone else’s quality of life. From this moment on I pledge to be more involved with the town board and to make sure they are doing their job. This has motivated me to be more involved in what’s going on. I would love to see downtown Oldsmar live up to it’s potential. Bottom line code enforcement needs to shut all these people down.
You don’t even know what your talking about I hope you know that. You don’t know anything about the landlord at that house but we’ve already talked to Murray and his wife. But have a good day
All those things you just said are NOT illegal they are allowed to do all those things and how about you pay for all this land they should live on ?? If YOU don’t like it keep your opinions to yourself or move
Ever read thru Oldsmar’s Code of Ordinances. Sounds like they are breaking some codes. If you don’t like something get involved and help change things for the better. That’s the way things work in a civilized society
There are multiple videos from multiple people that City Council has. I wonder if we can get them to post it.
Anthony, you and your friends sound like real jerks! I’m glad I don’t live on your street and feel so sorry for your neighbors! You all really should consider growing up and acting like respectable young men instead of rude, entitled, disrespectful animals.
And Cassie you sound like a woman who believes everything you read because half this stuff he lied about so get your facts straight before you assume
I am totally simply amazed how this stupid idiot of your neighbor next door of the kids can sit there and make up all these lies to get everybody on his side because he owns a $500,000 house and he don’t like the fact that redneck white trash as he calls it next door to him and to say they threaten your life are you f****** kidding me you are the one whose f****** scared ass pussy when somebody knocks on your door to resolve a problem you don’t come out you just want to quickly judge and make up b******* lies when how can you live with yourself and go to bed at night I hope to God somebody threatens you does something just to show you what it’s like a fear in your life then maybe you’ll change how you are saying this of Lies and you’ll think twice of all the b******* scrap that you’re doing these kids are going to be kids they are not bothering you you keep exaggerating so much s*** it’s pathetic just to get people on your side and I wish you would know what wfo and it wouldn’t surprise me if you wrote that in the park you dumb ass mother f***** I don’t care how you take this letter the funny part is they’re not going nowhere that’s what I’m laughing about and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do about it I’m laughing at you so hard right now because you’re the one who looks like a fool you keep changing this article over and over because you know that you’re not saying the right things and you know you can get in trouble so you’re rewording it every time you think we’re stupid you’re the one who’s stupid since you have all that money do you think you can have control over a lot of stuff little do you know you have to prove things and that’s what’s in their favor because they have not done nothing to you when you make up lies it’s going to come back at us in, just remember that you get what you deserve no one’s going to do anything to you you’re going to do it to yourself remember that no one had threatened your ass but anybody can make up a bunch of s*** just to get people on your side we’re the ones are going to have a last laugh not you so keep up you stupid ass s*** you stung m***********
The last writer has great sentence structure. Glad to see that we are all using friendly tone and language on this site. The last writer also demonstrates that this angry neighbor has nothing to be upset with. These people that he lives next to are the cream of the crop. To the last writer may I just say because you buy a 500,000 dollar house you are not rich , In fact if you bought it on that street you definitely are not rich. May I add to the last writer cursing every third word destroys your credibility. That all being said I think that everyone needs to follow the codes . I would say to this neighbor who is being victimized, call the police when you are being victimized , take notes of anything out of the ordinary , install cameras on and around your house. Oldsmar is a great place to live and work , do not be chased out by rude neighbors .
LOl they’ve had cameras up for the past 6 months, cops do come evertine when called, but everything that was called for or anything isn’t against the law or anything. If there’s proof of us shooting guns or painting the wall then why hasn’t any of us been charged with anything, that’s because all that’s false. All because they have a recording of a loud noise that might sound like a gun shot, they assume it is, but no one was even home and it was around 4th of July the day of the gunshot supposedly happened. This artical is 75% false. But all people now a days believes everything they read and see on the news. No one has ever done anything for this guy to feel threatened for his life, and “monster trucks” isn’t a crime. A big truck does nothing different than a smaller truck, and assuming wfo is racial for us because we’re southern is wrong, who’s the racial one for that because it means west Florida off-road. But all the people that doesn’t know us are quick to judge but if any one has a problem with anything feel free to come by and negotiate the problems before assuming this artical is true.
You should state what 75% is false, since you are continually saying such. Also, no one is ever quoted saying they are scared for their life. Ms. Kielich is quoting making some mention something near that by saying, ”After many promises to become better neighbors it is evident that they have no intentions on keeping their word, changing their ways, or at the very least stop harassing our neighborhood. I am deeply concerned for my family’s personal safety, as well as my neighbors.”
City Council has been asked to release their videos. The disputed 75% will surely shrink to a low number or even 0%. I was at one of the meetings that neither Mr. Murray, Mr. Shala nor Mr. Anthony were attending discussing the number complaints at this residence and saw other videos that weren’t Mr. Murray’s. The actions and language used were alarming. You claim to not have parties but the above-mentioned video showed so many trucks we couldn’t count them all. Let alone know the difference between them.
I suppose I should clarify since I will surely receive backlash for lack of details.
It was a cell phone video from a resident named Robert, a Park Blvd who didn’t state his last name when he presented. (A detail that is surely important now more than ever, unfortunately.) Robert was standing in the median, at what looked like near Arlington Ave., during the evening, recording one of the disputed “parties”.
There were 6 men in the video standing in the yard with trucks parked covering the entire lot and parked in the street. Who knows how many people were inside, out back, or etc. Trucks were continually having their gas pedals pressed and the amount of noise created made the phone’s speakers cackle. There was country music blaring very, very loudly and these men were trying to talk to each but had to do so at a loud level. Their language was pretty rough, to say the least.
Speak how you want, but in a quiet neighborhood during the evening, the last thing people want to hear is the various ways the F word can be used.
To me, it exemplified everything that is being disputed here. I am sure details are stretched or reworded to fit the article, but the overall descriptions could not be more spot on.
Yes we’ve had a couple people over, we don’t own 2 properties like Murray, so we don’t have 2 driveways, so if we can’t park on the street then they have to park on our yard. Tell me how a big truck is different than a small one. and there was no gun shot video it was an audio that could have been anyone or anything I’ve heard the video at the meeting, mr. Murray has stated and we have proof when he came over and talked after this artical was posted that the writer twisted his word and how everything has been great since the meeting. So if mr. and if you don’t believe me ask the sherif lady that was at the meeting. She called me the next day after this was published and said everything has been great.
610 Park house sold to Murray’s in 2010 for $275k, no permits pulled for improvements on record since then, so don’t know where the 1/2 million number is coming from, but seems to be repeated in many comments. Also looks like there is a property between Murray’s and the 606 Park house, so I’m wondering if anyone has contacted that owner regarding fencing off their property – if there truly is an issue with many people upset – they could all pitch in to fence the property and further separate the two parcels (606/610) – this may help alleviate the ATV use and parking issue immediately adjacent to the Murray parcel. That aside, speaking as a landlord myself, Mr. Shala does have a responsibility to his property’s neighbors, and there should be provisions in his lease that he can terminate without cause or for the convenience of the owner with 30/60/90 days notice. To Mr. Murray I would say, that part of Oldsmar has great potential for revival – but it is just that, going thru a revival stage, so it may take a while for full gentrification. Also, you need to do your due diligence and know who you are moving in next to – if you see a property with an owner that has multiple properties, you should expect renters passing thru the property and you never know what you will end up with. One telling item that goes against the tenants however – the picture of the tree being carved up, regardless of what it stands for, basically intentionally damaging the property. In most leases, that is grounds for immediate termination of the lease. I think the author needs to provide sources and facts regarding this article as it pertains to LE calls (public record). In the end, citing these records will flush out who is telling the truth here and who is full of – you know.
City Council has numerous videos of the incidents. LE has numerous videos of the incidents. While there may be embellishments stated, I saw some of these videos during a city meeting and a lot of the actions stated here are accurate.
Some of this is truly disturbing. Their replies here are even more disturbing.
Then show the proof of us shooting a gun and show us proof of us spray painting the wall and show us proof that we think wfo is white folks only. And the only reason why we don’t go to these meeting is because I’m usually at work at 5:30 and don’t get off until 7 roughly so I don’t have time like mr. Murray. He works for his dad so he can leave what ever time he wants
I’m appalled that Mr. Bujar Shala does not take pride in his home within the Oldsmar community. Allowing his tenants to terrorize the neighborhood and carve giant letters in a tree for all to see is confounding.
Shame on you Mr. Bujar Shala. Not only are you a thief (Reference Case No. 14-18317-MM) you abuse women (Reference Case No. 1413720MMANO) and now you are slumlord.
Mr. Bujar Shala you are just plain scum.
Oldsmar City Council do something about this!
Did you ever think that this is exactly what was wanted to happen to lower the amount of money the houses are worth in the neighborhood? Then when you have taken all you can take and you move others move in buy at a lower price and there goes Oldsmar! Keep strong folks and don’t give in to this hustle! That’s what happened in the Bronx and other areas of New York………………