Fines are beginning to rack up for a 40-year-old son living in his deceased parents’ home which has become a neighborhood eyesore in The Villages.
The home at 1906 Augustine Drive in the Village of Santo Domingo was the subject of a deed compliance hearing in March before the Community Development District 2 Board of Supervisors. Since that hearing the District has had had to cut the grass twice. A total of $500 in fines has been imposed on the property. If fines reach $1,500, the case will be turned over to District counsel
Living in the home is 40-year-old Timothy James Cronin Downey, who was in court this week in Lake County. He pleaded no contest to a charge of driving while license suspended. He had been arrested at the home last month after Sumter County sheriff’s deputies went to the home after a report of concern that the Weymouth, Mass. native might be a danger to himself. Downey paid $323 in fines and court costs Tuesday in the appearance in court.
A complaint about the home was received in January by Community Standards about overgrown grass, weeds, hedges over four feet tall and mold at the home.
Joseph and Rosemary Downey purchased the home in 2004 for $182,500. They married in 1968 and she died in 2016. Joseph Downey died Sept. 3, 2020, the day after his 81st birthday. That same month, the home was turned over to his son, Timothy.
At the time of the public hearing, the utilities and amenity fees were past due. Community Standards’ efforts to reach Downey had been unsuccessful.
