The San Diego Police Department were in Ocean Beach on Sunday morning, placing warning notices on vehicles left in a dirt parking lot near Robb Field. Among the cars, trucks and vans were two camper shells that have been laying in the dirt for roughly a week, according to SDPD.
"They left this one first to get it off their truck for whatever reason. Another vehicle came in to pick it up, dropped this one off, tried to put this one higher with the legs — couldn't get it high enough for their truck, it was too high. So now there's two. People are now living in them," said Casey Griffith, an Ocean Beach native.
Griffith's friends live in the apartment complex right behind where the campers are sitting. He told NBC 7 this isn't the first time something like this has happened, but he didn't expect it to happen again, and so soon.
"We cleaned it up about a year ago, and it all started over again," Griffith said.
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It's not just the abandoned campers neighbors are upset about. Piles of trash are scattered throughout the lot, left by the vagrants who have been camping there, according to Griffith.
"[We] get into arguments with the guys to try and have them clean it up, and they start cussing you out, threatening you … it doesn't work," Griffith said.
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NBC 7 spoke with one of the people living in one of the abandoned camper shells. He didn't want to provide his name.
"I came to be with a friend who had community and connections here, and his friend — his friend's girlfriend owns these, and they were just like leaving them here for a second, they were trying to move them over to some property," he said.
He said the original owners who left the camper shells had no intention of abandoning them, and are trying to relocate them by Monday. He also said he hasn't received any direct complaints from neighbors.
"Nobody talks to us, they just call the cops. Like, that's how it goes. Like every, every place I've ever been. Nobody's ever communicated with me on anything," he said.
In the meantime, Griffith said he is hoping that the City of San Diego follows through.
"We're waiting for environmental crew to come out, either cut them up or drag them out, and that's going to be even nastier with everything that's in there. It could be moldy," Griffith said.
SDPD told NBC 7 that they're hoping the campers are removed by Monday. The City of San Diego said it's working to resolve the complaints submitted through the "Get it Done" app.
