FOX44 - Burlington / Plattsburgh News, Weather & SportsTrailer Park Troubles

Shelburne, Vermont - Violence, drugs and fraud all in the back yard of one quaint Vermont community. It is an investigation by FOX44's Louisa Moller.

"I knew when I was pregnant for her that she was sick," said Shelburne mother Christina Bevins.

Her daughter, Dakota Bruner, was only 11 months when she died in 2009. Bevins says the baby had serious health complications.

"Her pulmonary valve failed."

Imagine Bevins' shock when she saw a sign on her neighbor's house accusing her of the worst.

"They had like this big banner on their porch, like hanging on their porch saying how does it know, or how does it feel to know that you killed your own baby," Bevins said.

Bevins and her family live in a Shelburne trailer park. Their home is just yards away from their neighbors, Farah Stevens and her mother, Lori Smith. Christina says they are the culprits behind the signs.

But when asked, Stevens and Smith gave a very different story, accusing Bevins and her family of attacking them.
 
"They called Shelburne PD I think 9 times in a 2 day period saying I was abusing my son," Stevens said.

The issue between the two parties was long, drawn-out and one giant "he said, she said." The next step was the Shelburne Police Department for some answers.

Shelburne Police Chief James Warden says he has been dealing with an ongoing battle between the three women for the last two years. And the Chief has the numbers to prove it.

Between 2009 and now, Shelburne Police have responded to 164 calls from the trailer park. Of them, 47 have come from just Bevins and Stevens' homes alone. Corporal Aaron Noble is forced to deal with these calls.

"Quality of life issues. We deal with assaults on police officers. We've had firearms complaints where people have threatened to shoot other people in the park," Noble said.

Noble says this all out rumble in the trailer park is costing Shelburne tax-payers. Thus far roughly $6,400 just for police officers to respond.

"It's very taxing because we don't send one officer in at a time. There's been many arrests made there. I want you to understand that. Some of them are a little on the violent side," Warden said.

To make matters worse, all three women are on state subsidized housing.

"There should be some sort of enforcement," Warden said.

Easier said than done.

After Louisa's investigation she learned that a local charity was helping Christina Bevins pay bills. But, when the organization learned what the money was actually being used for, which is unknown to us, the flow of money stopped.
 
Bevins also told Louisa that as a result of her investigation, the Burlington's Housing Authority's fraud division took away her subsidized housing. Bevins plans to fight the move with legal aid.

As for Stevens and Smith, they have chosen to voluntarily leave the park.

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