QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - Quincy police say they're now working on a homicide case after three bodies were found inside a burning house Friday.
The chief said autopsies done over the weekend indicated foul play is involved, but won't reveal any more details.
On July 27, Robinson, Willie Robinson, 49, his son Laferrick Robinson, 22, and Odessa Robinson, 52, were found dead inside a burning home at 677 7th Street in the Pepper Hill neighborhood.
All three victims were believed to have been living in the abandoned house when they were killed and set afire.
WTXL spoke with city officials about what they're doing abandoned homes in the area.
The mayor said dealing with homes like this one has been something the city has been working on for years, but now, she's bringing proposed changes to the table to help prevent something like this.
City officials couldn't count the number of abandoned and "dangerous" homes but Mayor Angela Sapp said there are several, especially in her district.
She's proposing shorter windows for property owners to address code violations and to demolish houses, if they're labeled "dangerous" by the city.
Mayor Sapp said the deadly fire last week prompted her to act now.
"Situations have escalated. What was in place three years ago that may not have been a dangerous home or an abandoned home, now is abandoned," said Mayor Sapp. "Yes, this is something we've been looking at all along, and unfortunately, the tragedy this weekend simply brought it to everybody's attention. Everybody is more concerned and wanting to see us do something about it, and from my standpoint, from my seat, we will definitely do something about the situation."
Some residents say the city has taken way too long to deal with this issue.
The Arnett Chapel AME Church is right next to an abandoned home. Parishioners say they've seen people come in and out of there. A trustee said one time, he found a man sleeping inside.
The church has been asking the city to do something about that house for at least 20 years but it's still standing there.
"We're a historical church here, and we're only two blocks from the courthouse," said John Francis, a trustee at Arnett Chapel AME Church. "We want to know why a piece of abandoned, raggedy, ugly property like this be in our back door of our church, and we can't anything done to it."
When WTXL was at the church, a building inspector stopped by but he couldn't give specific details about the status of that house.
There's an abandoned house next to that one and a daycare on the block said snakes have come out of there.
Meanwhile, the mayor said she'll bring her proposal before the city commission. They'll meet Tuesday, August 14.
Chief of Police Glenn Sapp sent a press release Monday regarding the city's "tougher stance" on dangerous and abandoned dwellings in the city. You can read the full release below:
Following the recent discoveries of three persons who died in an abandoned house fire incident the City of Quincy Government has begun a process of review on both abandoned and dangerous dwellings in Quincy. The ultimate goal is to expedite the process which determines if building owners should be allowed to voluntarily bring their buildings into compliance or if the City itself should take legal steps to tear down the structures.
Under the leadership of Mayor Angela Sapp and City Manager Jack McLean City Department heads were brought together today at an emergency meeting and discussed ways to deal with dangerous abandoned dwellings that are often times used for illegal activities such as drug dealing and prostitution which contribute to community blight and crime.
According to City Manager Jack McLean “these dangerous abandoned dwellings are both a hazard to our neighborhood’s safety and cause the surrounding responsible homeowner’s property values to decline”.
This matter will be taken up for further discussion and possibly city ordinance review and change at the next regular city commission meeting on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 6PM. The meeting place is Quincy City Hall.
Anyone with immediate questions regarding abandoned dwellings or code enforcement issues can call Dr. Bernard Piawah, Building and Planning Director, at (850) 618-1886.
