Armed criminals block her way

By reporter Steven Smalley

“I have contacted the police multiple times, and no one listens,” explains Daniela Eng of WBL Services just off Commodore Way in Magnolia. She says an illegal vagrant camp has created an environment so frightening she can’t exit her car to enter her office.

“We have an illegal homeless encampment across the street from work – dealing drugs, doing drugs, defecating in the street, leaving their needles on the sidewalk and trash everywhere. They come over to our property steal our stuff, urinate on the porch, take showers,” she says. “In the middle of the day there are people buying drugs right outside our office. They go into their cars and smoke crack right in the middle of everyone’s view. They are here on a daily basis.”

Although the company has all manner of pictures and video showing crimes committed on posted private property, police are loathe to act.

“I’m eight months pregnant. The other day I showed up at noon with my young kids in the car. I see two of these men stealing from our building. I wasn’t about to get out of the car. I roll down the window and yelled at them while I’m on the phone calling 911. He has a knife in his pocket which you can clearly see. I’m not about to get out of my car with my small children to get into my office. It took the police more than three hours to show up,” Eng says.

Eng is exasperated with the inaction of city officials and law enforcement. She contacted Magnolia Voice for help.

“I can’t show up here on a daily basis without there being someone else to walk me inside the building,” she says. “I’m talking to the mayor and the City Council – I’m tired of being politically correct. These criminals need to be moved, they need to be cited, they need to go. I guarantee you if I went over there and stole one of their tents the police would be banging on my door in minutes. They can come over here and steal whatever they want. We have clear pictures of all of them committing crimes,” she says.

Eng wants the City to act.

“We need the police and the City Council to step up and start cleaning up these homeless encampments and hold the individuals accountable for their illegal actions,” she implores. “They vandalize our property, trespass whenever they want, leave their needles everywhere, and the police won’t do a thing. I fear for my life. It’s time for that to change.”