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The 22 year old house guest sleeps in their bed, eats their food, steals from them and refuses to leave.
Hospitality cost couple dearly when guest refused to leave
Vincent and Donna Remeika go before a Hillsborough County Court judge on Tuesday morning to get an order to evict Brianna Heslin, their son’s 22-year-old girlfriend, from their home.
TAMPA — Vincent and Donna Remeika's home stands as a tribute to love and family. The first photograph you see is of the couple, married 29 years, with their kids in matching outfits. The big sign in the kitchen, past the water bowl for six rescued cats, says WELCOME HOME.
But home hasn't felt like home lately.
"I feel so violated," said Donna, 54, a high school guidance counselor. "You hear that from people who have been robbed. I'm getting that feeling every day."
It's not a masked intruder that has upset the peace, but a 22-year-old houseguest who refuses to leave.
The Remeikas invited their son's girlfriend, Brianna Heslin, to live in their Northdale home nearly a year ago. The woman, mother to their 2-year-old grandson, had no other place to stay.
A year later, after asking her to leave, then demanding, after intense arguments and cold silence, she remains.
Sleeps in their bed.
Eats their food.
Uses their toilet.
"This has absolutely blindsided us," said Vincent, 65, a manufacturing engineer. "We are stuck with this person, and we can't get rid of her."
The Remeikas, like a growing number of people in Hillsborough County, have learned that Florida law makes it hard and costly to evict guests from a home if they refuse to leave. They launched a civil process known as an "unlawful detainer" action to get Heslin out.
In the past five years, the number of unlawful detainer filings in Hillsborough have increased more than fivefold, from 16 in 2006 to 91 in 2010. This year's filings are on pace to climb higher.
So far, the ordeal has cost the Remeikas $328 in court fees and their case has dragged on for eight weeks, all while the woman continues to watch their television and even add items to their dry-erase shopping list.
On Tuesday, they finally convinced a judge to order Heslin to vacate the house. But plenty of damage has already been done.
The Remeikas say Heslin has stolen jewelry worth $32,000 from Donna's safe and wrote checks worth nearly $741 to herself from the Remeikas' account. Those allegations prompted an investigation and on Monday a warrant was issued for Heslin's arrest on charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and defrauding a pawnbroker. She was arrested before, in 2008, for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, but her record shows she was not prosecuted.
The Remeikas say all that could have been avoided had they been allowed to kick Heslin out of the house. They allowed her to stay so long out of love for their grandson, but once the child was taken from her custody, they wanted her gone.
In early July, the Remeikas left town on a cruise. They changed the code on their garage door to prevent Heslin, who they say had been held in custody for substance abuse treatment under Florida's Marchman Act, from getting inside. But Heslin did show up at the house. She called the Remeikas' adult daughter and demanded to know the code.
"She told me she was going to call the cops," Kimberly Czabaj said. "I said, 'Fine, call the cops.' She called the police officer, who eventually called and spoke to me, and he told me to give him the new code, so he could let her in."
Still, with her parents out of the country, she refused.
"He kept saying, 'Unfortunately, she does live here,' " Czabaj said. 'Unfortunately, she has a right to be in the home.' "
The deputy eventually left, and somehow Heslin was able to get inside. On July 12, someone forged one of the Remeikas' checks for $1,500.
Around the same time, Donna's jewelry — her wedding ring, a diamond tennis bracelet from her husband, and gold necklaces and rings that belonged to her own mother — was stolen from the safe in her bedroom closet.
"The deputies told us, 'Get a moving van and move all your stuff into a storage unit,' " Donna said, exasperated. "They told us to padlock our bedroom door!"
Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said once someone has established residency, getting them out becomes a civil matter.
"We can't just arbitrarily put someone out on the street," Carter said.
John E. McMillan, a Tampa lawyer who represents landlords, hears regularly from people in similar situations.
"It does happen a fairly good bit," he said.
One typical scenario, he said, is when a son or daughter hits 18, won't leave home, never pays rent, and the parents get tired of the child and want him gone.
Other examples abound.
In 2003, a Tampa woman took in a college friend and her three children, but the temporary stay turned into seven months, and when she asked them to leave, the friend laughed in her face. This year, a Dover woman used an unlawful detainer action to remove squatters from a home she was trying to sell.
McMillan said the police aren't powerless.
"They'd rather put the monkey on the judge's back … than intervene in a family squabble."
While the Remeikas have been trying to boot Heslin, she's been fighting back with a lawsuit of her own.
Heslin claims a heavy wooden cabinet fell on her head while she used the toilet in their house. She is suing the Remeikas for damages in excess of $15,000 for medical expenses, mental anguish, loss of the ability to enjoy life and loss of earnings.
The Remeikas don't know how Heslin injured her head, but they say there's no evidence the cabinet has ever come off the wall. The bolts and anchors are still holding it in place, and it does not appear damaged.
"She's lying," Donna said.
Heslin's lawyer, Michael Gonzales, would not comment for this story. Heslin could not be reached and didn't return messages.
The police are now a regular presence at the Remeika home, where Vincent and Donna still spend sleepless nights.
"I thought that with enough love and compassion and kindness, people would just rise to the occasion," Donna said. "Maybe that's crazy."
Deputies showed up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to serve a felony warrant on Heslin.
Surprise. Heslin wasn't home.
Article from: http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1187810.ece
Hospitality cost couple dearly when guest refused to leave
Vincent and Donna Remeika go before a Hillsborough County Court judge on Tuesday morning to get an order to evict Brianna Heslin, their son’s 22-year-old girlfriend, from their home.
TAMPA — Vincent and Donna Remeika's home stands as a tribute to love and family. The first photograph you see is of the couple, married 29 years, with their kids in matching outfits. The big sign in the kitchen, past the water bowl for six rescued cats, says WELCOME HOME.
But home hasn't felt like home lately.
"I feel so violated," said Donna, 54, a high school guidance counselor. "You hear that from people who have been robbed. I'm getting that feeling every day."
It's not a masked intruder that has upset the peace, but a 22-year-old houseguest who refuses to leave.
The Remeikas invited their son's girlfriend, Brianna Heslin, to live in their Northdale home nearly a year ago. The woman, mother to their 2-year-old grandson, had no other place to stay.
A year later, after asking her to leave, then demanding, after intense arguments and cold silence, she remains.
Sleeps in their bed.
Eats their food.
Uses their toilet.
"This has absolutely blindsided us," said Vincent, 65, a manufacturing engineer. "We are stuck with this person, and we can't get rid of her."
The Remeikas, like a growing number of people in Hillsborough County, have learned that Florida law makes it hard and costly to evict guests from a home if they refuse to leave. They launched a civil process known as an "unlawful detainer" action to get Heslin out.
In the past five years, the number of unlawful detainer filings in Hillsborough have increased more than fivefold, from 16 in 2006 to 91 in 2010. This year's filings are on pace to climb higher.
So far, the ordeal has cost the Remeikas $328 in court fees and their case has dragged on for eight weeks, all while the woman continues to watch their television and even add items to their dry-erase shopping list.
On Tuesday, they finally convinced a judge to order Heslin to vacate the house. But plenty of damage has already been done.
The Remeikas say Heslin has stolen jewelry worth $32,000 from Donna's safe and wrote checks worth nearly $741 to herself from the Remeikas' account. Those allegations prompted an investigation and on Monday a warrant was issued for Heslin's arrest on charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and defrauding a pawnbroker. She was arrested before, in 2008, for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, but her record shows she was not prosecuted.
The Remeikas say all that could have been avoided had they been allowed to kick Heslin out of the house. They allowed her to stay so long out of love for their grandson, but once the child was taken from her custody, they wanted her gone.
In early July, the Remeikas left town on a cruise. They changed the code on their garage door to prevent Heslin, who they say had been held in custody for substance abuse treatment under Florida's Marchman Act, from getting inside. But Heslin did show up at the house. She called the Remeikas' adult daughter and demanded to know the code.
"She told me she was going to call the cops," Kimberly Czabaj said. "I said, 'Fine, call the cops.' She called the police officer, who eventually called and spoke to me, and he told me to give him the new code, so he could let her in."
Still, with her parents out of the country, she refused.
"He kept saying, 'Unfortunately, she does live here,' " Czabaj said. 'Unfortunately, she has a right to be in the home.' "
The deputy eventually left, and somehow Heslin was able to get inside. On July 12, someone forged one of the Remeikas' checks for $1,500.
Around the same time, Donna's jewelry — her wedding ring, a diamond tennis bracelet from her husband, and gold necklaces and rings that belonged to her own mother — was stolen from the safe in her bedroom closet.
"The deputies told us, 'Get a moving van and move all your stuff into a storage unit,' " Donna said, exasperated. "They told us to padlock our bedroom door!"
Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said once someone has established residency, getting them out becomes a civil matter.
"We can't just arbitrarily put someone out on the street," Carter said.
John E. McMillan, a Tampa lawyer who represents landlords, hears regularly from people in similar situations.
"It does happen a fairly good bit," he said.
One typical scenario, he said, is when a son or daughter hits 18, won't leave home, never pays rent, and the parents get tired of the child and want him gone.
Other examples abound.
In 2003, a Tampa woman took in a college friend and her three children, but the temporary stay turned into seven months, and when she asked them to leave, the friend laughed in her face. This year, a Dover woman used an unlawful detainer action to remove squatters from a home she was trying to sell.
McMillan said the police aren't powerless.
"They'd rather put the monkey on the judge's back … than intervene in a family squabble."
While the Remeikas have been trying to boot Heslin, she's been fighting back with a lawsuit of her own.
Heslin claims a heavy wooden cabinet fell on her head while she used the toilet in their house. She is suing the Remeikas for damages in excess of $15,000 for medical expenses, mental anguish, loss of the ability to enjoy life and loss of earnings.
The Remeikas don't know how Heslin injured her head, but they say there's no evidence the cabinet has ever come off the wall. The bolts and anchors are still holding it in place, and it does not appear damaged.
"She's lying," Donna said.
Heslin's lawyer, Michael Gonzales, would not comment for this story. Heslin could not be reached and didn't return messages.
The police are now a regular presence at the Remeika home, where Vincent and Donna still spend sleepless nights.
"I thought that with enough love and compassion and kindness, people would just rise to the occasion," Donna said. "Maybe that's crazy."
Deputies showed up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to serve a felony warrant on Heslin.
Surprise. Heslin wasn't home.
Article from: http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1187810.ece
