Clairemont Square

On July 10, an East Clairemont neighborhood was faced with a vandalized SUV asking people to "Call Turko" because "This neighborhood is a meth op." Michael Turko said no one ever did "Call Turko."

Somebody vandalized this SUV in seemingly a cry for help

On July 15, a south Clairemont resident photographed a man in the canyon changing his shirt before scoping out her condo mailboxes and then heading back to the canyon to change again. This sighting correlated with a recent uptick in thefts. She feared last summer's “camper bandits" were back.

This Carl's Jr. has a lot of people hanging out for hours, often with doors open wide. Sometimes you'll catch a glimpse of someone smoking a glass pipe at high noon.

In the summer of 2016, residents shared photos and info about these suspicious people on NextDoor. We gave them nicknames so neighbors could know who we were talking about. This summer, a possible "Scooby Doo" sighting garnered 100 comments.

Tioga towed.

Other than "Scooby Doo," "Shaggy," "Spicoli," and "Old Man,” "Oranges" seemed to have returned; she was nicknamed so because she said she was picking oranges when it appeared she was casing cars. "Scooby Doo" was accused of assaulting a resident and was known for wearing white knee-socks with flip-flops.

On July 27, a neighbor told me a homeless guy was hiding in the bushes near my residence — he was making a sandwich when I approached.

On July 24, a Tioga camper parked at the laundromat in the Clairemont Village shopping center (Clairemont Drive and Burgener Boulevard). Neighbors said it looked like drugs were being dealt and that some "camper bandits" were in attendance.

Balboa Mesa

One guy was wearing a chemical apron. This same guy was seen going into that camper the day before with a gas mask. After ten minutes of several neighbors watching the vehicle, an odd assortment of characters rolled out of the camper before it took off.

Neighbors then clued me in on three suspected drug houses in the neighborhood. One has been raided several times by the police. Recently, people were out front handcuffed while the police searched the house.

By far, the most disturbing sight seen was that of a homeless man dancing through our neighborhood with a hammer in late June, early July, singing loudly about putting holes in people's heads. Some residents say they've seen him with a hammer and chisel, singing an Eminem song.

While I'm no drug-war cheerleader, the thought of that gas mask, cooking apron, the "camper bandits" return, and hammer-guy loomed large as I saw the Tioga camper later that night in the shopping center parked in front of Carl's Jr. When I called the police, I didn't think they would show — I was just hoping they would patrol more often.

One witness photographed the camper being towed that night. He saw one guy getting arrested and two others dragging suitcases out of the camper and kicking things as they headed for one of the suspected drug houses. He checked arrest logs and said that the guy was noted as a transient arrested for petty theft and drug possession.

Another resident spotted the camper a few days later. While it stayed out of the shopping center, the drug dealing didn't appear to. Some of the same people that rolled out of that Tioga camper were hanging out in front of the laundromat the next morning.

Later that same day, a white truck parked and flung its doors open in front of the laundromat — a girl wore roller-skates on the passenger side. This was the moment I first wondered if wide-open doors might be a signal of some sort. The Tioga camper had its hood open, I recalled. Later, I saw the girl sans roller-skates hanging in a black Mercedes.

On July 27, a neighbor told me a homeless guy was hiding in the bushes near my residence — he was making a sandwich when I approached.

Without any prompt, he said: "You look like someone that wants to make a statement downtown in court!… You look like someone that wants to make a statement about product being sold on the street!" His facial expressions and hand gestures were intimidating. He left once neighbors came to my aid. One neighbor had seen him a couple days prior, in a car with Montana plates. Other neighbors said he's a homeless guy who usually hangs out on the corner of Clairemont Mesa and Shawline. Someone else said he's always yelling crazy things.

Right away, a dark SUV parked across the street. The driver, wearing dark sunglasses, stared at my front door. Later that day, two guys were seen crunched down in a black Mercedes eyeballing anyone who came within range of the laundromat. At this point, I felt like I was in a badly directed episode of Breaking Bad.

A few days later, at 3:15 a.m., a neighbor texted that a homeless guy was loitering at my place.

From here, it kicked into high-gear with lots of different cars and people loitering around the laundromat. The only constant was their modus operandi: cars with doors and/or trunks flung open, sometimes with random things piled on their roofs, and always making a show out of folding whatever shirt was laying around in their car. I saw one guy folding the same long-sleeved black shirt off and on for hours.

On August 6, after a few minutes of talking to a homeless couple that sleeps in their car in the laundromat parking lot, a girl walked up and asked me, "Do you know Theresa?" When I answered no, she said, "That's all I need to ask" and turned away.

I learned from someone in the know that "T" names like Tina, Theresa, and Trump are code for meth. I was told dealers sometimes do online ads with code words and any misplaced capital "T" in a word is code for meth.

Glass pipes started making the rounds in early August — in the hands of those using them in broad daylight in the shopping center and stashed in residents' bushes. Several residents informed shopping-center management but got nowhere. Individual store managers weren't much help either.

Are others living near Clairemont shopping centers dealing with this?

Three years ago, Adam moved into his West Clairemont apartment near the Balboa Mesa shopping center (Balboa Avenue and Genesee Avenue). "Everybody has a peculiar neighbor but this is beyond anything I've ever experienced in my life. For the first couple of years, it was just a nuisance with his friends coming over at all hours and seeing all the garbage left behind."

In late 2016, residents saw homeless guys dealing drugs out of a carport. Adam recognized some of the transients from the nearby shopping center.

When a homeless camp appeared on the grounds, vandalism and car break-ins started. Bongs and meth paraphernalia were found.

"We caught one guy breaking into a truck and called the police. I saw the guy in the bushes the next morning when I was walking my dog. I guess he didn't get arrested."

After Adam helped neighbors break down the homeless camp, he got a threatening note: ”It will all be over soon,” signed by, “Your Killer.”

Then, according to Adam, a homeless man threw a knife into a neighbor’s enclosed patio where kids often play. "He knocked on the door and asked for his knife back. This finally got the police involved."

After the knife incident, Adam said things quieted down for about a month until the same homeless guys started coming around again.

Second-generation Clairemont native Zed lives north of the Clairemont Square shopping center (Clairemont Drive and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard). He said that since the shopping center changed security companies six to eight months ago, the situation has improved.

"Before the changeover in security, there would be motorhomes that would be parked at the 99 Cent Store and Vons parking lot late at night. I could see their engine idling or whatnot — probably doing something.... Very suspicious there at night."

Zed said a drug house in his neighborhood was seized by the city about a year ago. "There is another drug house nearby but not much action now. I believe the gentleman that owns it has clamped down on that."

Sam has lived in Clairemont since 1989 and currently lives south of Clairemont Square. He said guys with backpacks come around at 4 a.m. pushing shopping carts down his street. A couple months ago, two were seen taking off around 4 a.m. after a dog barked. They left behind a T.J. Maxx shopping cart with containers of pancakes and french toast.

Sam is a business owner who has done jobs in the neighborhood where the "Call Turko" SUV was parked. "The guy that owns that SUV, he's a weird character. He actually painted his own car like that." Sam said that it's a nice neighborhood full of nice people except for the one weird guy and a party or drug house. "He must have gotten fed up."

I checked out other laundromats in the area and found those with attendants didn't appear to have homeless people or dealers hanging out. Fast-food restaurants were another matter. By far, the most hardcore was the Jack in the Box at Genesee and Derrick Drive, where dealers appear to be hanging out inside the restaurant. A lot of sketchy characters were seen stopping by. Then a gold truck parked next to me, a guy got out and went inside, and came out with two guys — one in unforgettable mint-green shorts. Directly in front of me, one guy handed a plastic baggie full of miniature envelopes to the guy who had parked next to me. The latter then went into the restaurant and the other two left.

A few residents near the Clairemont Village shopping center have said they're considering a nuisance lawsuit.

A program called Safe Streets Now helps residents sue those fostering a nuisance in their neighborhood. It's based on state law that requires property owners to use their property in ways that are "conducive to the peace and harmony of the neighborhood" and do not interfere "with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property."

The Tioga camper returned to the laundromat on August 28. This coincides with other familiar faces driving different vehicles. The black Mercedes duo now drive an old white truck filled with recycling. One guy who’s been sleeping in a beat-up white car is now driving a Jaguar.

On September 2, they were all gone. A neighbor saw a shopping-center manager telling them to scram the day before. Thoughts that the shopping-center management finally cared about our plight quickly fizzled once a resident of nearby senior apartments told me they've been ordered not to park there either: she was told it was about freeing up parking for the Sprout's opening in October.

The Tioga camper was back on September 3.