Add The California Post on Google Homeowners at the Ohio trailer park where San Francisco 49ers boss Jed York was arrested have slammed cops for repeatedly using the neighborhood to bait suspected criminals.
Wheat Hill Mobile Home Community in East Palestine was thrust into the spotlight Monday after the 46-year-old allegedly agreed to pay $160 for sex, only to discover the woman was undercover police.
The Post spoke to those who live at the site who revealed it was not the first time the address has been used for a sting operation, with them pointing an empty lot nearby being an ideal place to corner suspects.
But they warned it has dragged the park’s name through the mud and that the idea of it being a haven for prostitution could not be further from the truth.
One local, 72, who asked not to be named, told The Post: “We don’t deserve this. This is a beautiful park. Now we’re being labeled as running prostitution and drug rings and stuff out of this trailer park.”
Others said police have previously conducted multiple operations in the community involving alleged drug dealers, child predators and prostitution-related investigations.
Michelle, a manager at the trailer park, said she was afraid the latest arrest would add a new “stigma” to the well-maintained community.
She added: “We were just starting to get rid of this stigma of a trailer park because in the past it was a bad park.”
Another resident, Tammy Semon, said: “That’s putting us on the map, and that is also putting our lives and our children’s lives, and our elderly lives in danger.
“It is a dead end, and if they come out here and God forbid the police don’t catch them right away, where are they gonna go? What are they gonna do?”
She added: “But with our new owners they really turned this park around. Hopefully it doesn’t hurt us. We are all pretty much in the dark into any of the details other than we are now being blasted across the nation. I feel that it does jeopardize the safety of the community.”
Cops told management that the sting involving York was a “random stop,” according to Michelle. However, police records obtained by The Post indicated the opposite.
The police report said: “York was provided a meeting location address, which was a mobile home park but he was given a fictitious lot number. York arrived at the meeting location and advised he was pulling in.”
That account has fueled residents’ anger, particularly because they say the park has become associated with criminal activity despite what they describe as a quiet, family-oriented community.
They said they support police catching criminals — they just don’t want the stings happening in their backyard, where they say they could put families and children at risk.
Mel, another local, continued: “500 feet from the park entrance, there is an empty lot that they could be used to catch these predators over.
“But no, they’re pulling them over here in the park. Which, in turn, is making us look very, very bad.”
They said the operations have happened both near the entrance and, in at least one instance, farther inside the community near an area where children live.
They have raised their concerns with police but have seen little change. An older resident claimed: “They actually laughed about it. The police department’s opinion about this trailer park is that…”
The Post has reached out to the police chief as well as the park manager for comment.
Despite the repeated police activity, residents insisted there is no widespread criminal activity inside Wheat Hill. East Palestine has an overall crime rate that is lower than the national average.
One resident added: “There is no drug trafficking. There is no prostitution. There’s nothing happening like that.
“We’ve never had any problems here. There’s never been any drugs here, no prostitution. The said the only problems they have are drivers speeding through the trailer park.
