Gwinnett County

Gwinnett homeowner facing possible jail time after property unkept for years

NORCROSS, Ga. — A Gwinnett County homeowner is facing jail time over a house that neighbors call an eyesore.

Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson was in unincorporated Norcross where the owner has been a no-show in court.

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A Gwinnett County house stands out in the neighborhood for all the wrong reasons and now the homeowner could spend time in jail over it.

“Completely overbearing and overpowering with weeds and vines,” Erinn Watts said.

Watts is one of the neighbors who are fed up with the home on Rockborough Trail in unincorporated Norcross.

“You can’t even see the property. I didn’t even know there was a house there for a majority of the time,” Watts explained,

She says it’s looked like this for years and has only gotten worse.

“What kind of insects and rodents and all kinds of things and snakes and, you know, things are up under there,” Watts said.

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Gwinnett County Code Enforcement began investigating in 2019. They told Johnson the 59-year-old homeowner hasn’t shown up when they’ve taken her to court. Now, a judge issued a bench warrant for her arrest after the latest no-show.

“It doesn’t seem very safe or healthy for her to be living in that kind of environment,” Watts said.

Johnson made his way to the front door to see if anyone was home and knocked but no one came to the door. A recent code enforcement violation hangs on the doorknob.

Neighbors say they want a solution for everyone involved.

“It’s just kind of an eyesore. It really is,” Watts said.

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It’s unclear where exactly the homeowner is, whether she lives here permanently or just visits from time to time.

It would be up to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office to serve the failure to appear warrant.

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