JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents living in a Southside neighborhood where college fraternity parties are being held say a party late Saturday night and early Sunday morning was the last straw, and now they want the property owner to evict his tenants.
Members of the homeowners association in Windsor Chase say a drunken college student from the University of North Florida sustained serious head injuries in a bathroom in the house. Witnesses said the student was taken away in an ambulance.
The students who live in the house refused to speak to News4Jax, but the property owner said at least two of his tenants are members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at UNF.
Homeowners association members said the owner was just waiting for proof that the college parties were being held. Members said now they have the pictures and the video to prove it.
Witnesses said the streets were lined with cars with Alpha Tau Omega logos on bumpers or in windows. Homeowners association member Richard Espada said the students hired two Jacksonville police officers to attempt to control the crowd.
"They've actually got people out here directing traffic, and they had a cop, which they had on permit because he wasn't allowed to go in," Espada said.
He said the college students have been warned several times about late-night frat parties, which have been going on for nearly a year. The fraternity CEO didn't return calls for comment.
Lina Ingraham said her daughter owns the house.
"According to my daughter and son-in-law, it's not a frat house, and if it's a frat house, they are going to have to move," Ingraham said.
She said all five tenants' parents co-signed on the lease. The owners said they've violated their agreement to not have more than 12 people at a time in the home.
"So far they are writing letters to the parents and telling them they have to move because they say it's not a frat house and is not used for that purpose," Ingraham said.
Organized Greek housing is not offered on the UNF campus, which is why some fraternity members choose to live off campus.
The owner said he has started the process of evicting the college students.