Pasco neighborhood defies eviction letter

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - One by one, Steve Knwell pointed out which homes in his neighborhood are still occupied, and which neighbors have nowhere else to go.

He includes himself in that group.

"I'm gonna go live under the bridge, probably," Knwell said.

It was a few days after Tropical Storm Debby flooded out their neighborhood when everyone at the Walden Pond mobile home park received an eviction notice.  The letter, signed only by the park's owner, gave them until the end of July to get out.  Since then, about ten trailers have emptied, but nearly thirty others are still full. 

Those neighbors are now vowing to stand their ground.

"We're losing sleep about what's gonna happen," said neighbor Ron Dumas.

Dumas and his wife chose to stay in their home after having their eviction notice reviewed by an attorney.  They say they were told it's bogus and nothing more than a threatening letter with no legal power.

"It's almost like you're getting bullied out of here, is the way I look at it," Dumas said.

Still, no one knows for sure what the owner's intentions are.  Neighbors say they've made repeated calls to that owner, Paul Beraquit, but claim they've all gone unanswered.

For now, they say they plan to stay in their homes and fight the eviction.

"Just hope for the best," said neighbor Knwell.  "I don't like it, but we have to live with it."