South Odessa subdivisions like, Pleasant Farms, 385 Ranch Estates and Nolan Acres used to be nice places to live. It only took a few years of neglect for these and other areas south of town to become drug infested and crime riddled neighborhoods causing some long term residents to move out and others fearing for their lives. With the last oil boom many RV parks moved in bringing resident from all over the united states to these neighborly communities. Population, road traffic, crime, burglary and murder all increased. The one area that residents say there was no increase is the presence of law enforcement.
One resident showed me a video recording caught on a security camera that showed two pit bulls being sicced on her son as he rode his bike on private property. The video clearly showed the owner of the pit bulls push the dogs off the porch and sling her arm in the direction of the kid while pointing his direction. The dogs immediately gave chase. The boy unsuspectingly riding his bike hears the dogs viciously growling and turns to look behind him. Terror can be seen on his face as he throws down his bike and runs. One of the dogs is a few feet from him when they disappear behind a building and are out of sight. My heart raced as I watched this video. I asked the mother what kept the dog from getting him as it was right on his tail. She said that she happened to be outside and screamed at the dog causing it to pause long enough for them to make it safely inside. She stated that this was the same dog that had previously come in to her yard on two other occasions snatching one of her small dogs each time. Sadly, one of the dogs was killed and the other taken to the veterinarian resulting in a vet bill totaling more than $1000. In all three cases the Ector County Sheriffs Department was called out and each time the deputy told the homeowner that he was sorry but he could not legally take any action, though he was kind enough to retrieve the dead dog from the dumpster where the owner of the pit bull had placed it. Animal Control was contacted after the deputy declined to take action, they gave the dog owner a warning but never followed up and the dog is still able to run lose. I am not overly savvy on the law but I found statutes to the contrary and actually found that using a dog as a deadly weapon can carry felony or misdemeanor charges. The homeowner last week went to the Sheriffs Department and attempted to retrieve copies of the past police reports but was told none existed.
A huge complaint source was about a known drug house located in Pleasant Farms. I heard complaints of careless discharging of weapons day and night, excessive traffic, fighting, naked people wondering the streets and strangers seemingly high, prowling around other peoples properties making it impossible to live without fear of the actions of the residents on this corner. More than a dozen residents had stories, too numerous to mention, but most concerning was the number of people that have died on premise in the last 2 years. Some say four and some say 5 but they all agreed on one thing, this is unacceptable and something needs to be done.
The Attorney Generals Office recently ruled in favor of the county against the city over the penny tax that county residents voted for in 2018. Residents gathered at the community building located at 4454 W Apple St. to hear local officials explain the benefits to voting in favor of this 1.25% sales tax increase promising that the money collected would be used to better their communities. A big promise to South Ector County residents was the increased presence of law enforcement. South Ector County residents believe that they have been overlooked and forgotten by all accounts. Mowing was neglected all last year, little to no presence of law enforcement and no road maintenance until recently. Many residents stated that when they called for law enforcement that it was an extended response time and sometimes no one showed at all. Environmental has stepped it up putting a dent in the illegal dumping but more is needed. According to my records our penny tax amounted to almost 15 million dollars ($15,000,000) in 2020. Ector County Sheriff’s Department was allotted more than 10 million ($10,000,000) of those dollars. This gave them the budget they asked for to hire more deputies and purchase new vehicles totaling more than 2 million dollars (2,000,000).
I want you to ask yourself, “What kind of return you are seeing on your money in South Ector County?” How many speeding tickets have been written? Have you witnessed deputies randomly pull over and inspect truck drivers? Have you seen law enforcement cruising your neighborhood or do they only show up after a crime is committed. I think law enforcement should be pro-active as well as re-active. When was the last time you saw our county commissioner, Armando Rodriquez, working to better your communities? I am a big fan of Sheriff Griffis but his deputies are not representing him well. How many people have to be murdered in South Odessa to warrant a full time deputy? South Ector County crime is beyond broken windows and its residents are demanding some change and protection for their families.