Former Felons Forced To Move From Under Bridge
‘A group of registered sex offenders and convicted felons who were told by the Department of Corrections to live under a bridge in Fort Lauderdale have been chased away by neighbors, police and the Department of Transportation.
On Friday night, police officers posted “No Trespassing” signs underneath the Oakland Park Boulevard Bridge over the intracoastal and told the former felons that if they didn’t leave they’d be arrested. The group packed up their things and headed west.
They set up a camp on the edge of the Everglades, far away from schools, parks and civilization. [..]
“Hopefully nobody’s going to complain about it and we can be left alone for a while,” said Mark DaCosta, an ex-convict who is not a sex offender but was ordered to live by the same rules as a condition of his parole.
The Department of Corrections had the men reporting to the bridge every night because they couldn’t find a place for them to live that wasn’t too close to school or park. State law prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of anyplace children congregate. [..]’
