Has anyone checked to see if this man has hoarder’s disease?

Has anyone offered to have a salvage person come and take a look to see if he could sell some of the scrap?

Does he have friends that could help in this situation?

I don’t feel there is enough information in this story.

Leave the man alone. He has said he would get rid of things if a list is provided of the items that have to go. No one is providing that list because they know that telling another American what he can own and what he can't could open up legal recourse. Additionally, I get the impression that those harassing him don't know what "Junk" items are worth something. They are just projecting their opinion that his place is an eyesore. I would love to have him as a neighbor. To me, the woman interviewed describing how bad his place looks, has teeth that are more of an eyesore than his place is. Rock on old man! I say keep playing like you are, you have the support of a lot more people than you know. If you are planning on selling any of your stuff, I would love to have an invite and I know several others that are with me on this.

See this is the kind of thing that infuriates me. A little history about myself. I am a two time Iraqi veteran for a total of just under 30 months. And by the way no I was not support. I spent all that time fighting and losing part of myself and some of my friends didn’t even make it home in support of our liberties and rights and this man doesn’t even have the right to have things on his own property because they are an “eye sore!?!?!” Come on people, add up the tax dollars it took to get the police out to arrest this man and place him in jail when the money could have gone to the schools that just laid off teachers. Aren’t most if not all the jails over crowded? Isn’t there a budget cut that took some of the police officers off the street so now they are going to a mans own property to make him get rid of his own belongings that I’m assuming he paid for. All the while a REAL crime might have been stopped but the officers were dealing with someone who….. “has things.” That’s like me saying you should be in jail because I don’t like what your wearing. “Its ugly.” Don’t we have bigger things to worry about. Oh say like how we are going to bring the economy back. Maybe how we can either get our soldiers home: who trust me by the way would love to be here and living right next to this guy. Basically why sweat the small stuff. Maybe this man is preparing for the great depression number 2. If that happens who knows you might need something he has. Lastly if it isn’t hurting someone else and you just don’t like how it works don’t look at it. If you think it makes your neighborhood look bad buy him a fence you cant see over. But how can an American tell another American what to own and place his judgment on what it looks like.

Let's put this in perspective. I'm going to play the other side of the coin.

First off, there are apparently zoning laws that specifically address acceptable and non-acceptable items, clutter, and so on permitted on a person's property within Boise city limits.

Second, Boise Zoning Administrator Spjute states that law enforcement officers have been warning Gray "for years" that the amount and nature of his "stuff" is unacceptable relative to the zoning standards. He has been aware that some action on his part was required for "years" and has not complied. If he is unclear as to exactly what actions are required, then law enforcement should provide that information as cited in legal statute (and this information should also be publicly available).

Third, his neighbors have been complaining, presumably for "years" without any positive result. If his yard looks bad, their property values go down. This isn't just a matter of one man doing what he wants on his own property. His actions (or lack thereof) affect others who have no recourse but to turn to the law.

Instead of evaluating this situation in isolation ("this poor man out there somewhere in some other neighborhood"), let's say he's your next door neighbor. Now, how do you feel? Differently perhaps? If not, perhaps you'll volunteer to keep some or all of Gray's "stuff" in your yard to prevent him from returning to jail. That's assuming of course, that you don't see Gray's "stuff" as "junk" once it's in your yard, and assuming your neighbors don't complain.

I can feel for the neighbors that have to put up with this but I also understand Mr Gray's point. Scott Spjute, of the City, will only say that the yard is cluttered but refuses to give Mr. Gray a list of items that need to go. I wonder why that is? Maybe the City of Boise is just too full of people with too much power, too little to do and too much time to do it in. Maybe Mr. Spjute could help organize Pick Up Boise to do more than just rake up leaves and get it to help people remove clutter from their yards also or is Mr. Spjute too busy getting people put in jail for not following his orders.

I seriously think it was way wrong to put this 75 year old man in jail because of this. I really doubt that a 75 year old man could clean up a yard like that. He is probably so embarassed and is defensive saying he likes the objects in his yard when in fact he seriously can't do it himself...maybe the city should find some helpers or something to help him go through everything in his yard and help him dispose of the things that are not necessary????? If he does really in fact like these things then maybe someone who can help him should have a talk with him while going throgh all of it and help him understand that these objects need to be disposed of...putting him in jail isnt going to make this 75 year old man superhuman to get the stuff out of his yard...its not going to move anything....he needs help!!!

What happened to Freedom, he owns the land and has probably been there longer than any of his "neighbors" who probably bought some new house that was developed up against his land and now he has to change for them. I work salvage, he could have a gold mine, but in today's throw away society most people would not have a clue. How about society worry about real problems and quit trying to turn this country into a socialist utopia. Right on old man, give'em all you got.

Nice! Doesn't the city have better things to do? There are crimes that need to be solved, people selling drugs to kids, and this list can go on for a very long time! Nice to see our tax dollars hard at work!

I think jail is totally warranted. I personally take a lot of pride in how my property looks, and I would be sick if he lived by me.

Give me a break! Yeah he may have been warned over the years to take care of his yard, but has anyone stopped to think that he is 75 years old. It seemed to me that he lives alone and who knows if he has any family around. Maybe instead of the neighbors complaining and being ignorant, they could rally together and help him. I'm sure that it wouldn't be that hard to find some trucks and trailers to haul that stuff out of there. There is obviously to much for him to do himself! And like one comment that was made there are a lot more horrible things going on in our community that need to be taken care of!

to many people want everyone to live to their expectations and don`t like what other people do or want! he owns the land and the possessions on it, leave the man and his property alone, with the market today he might be sitting on a gold mine. if it aint hurting anyone leave him alone. the city zoning people are a group of people costing us tax payers a lot of money, how about they lower our taxes and fire most of them. i have delt with them and they brake more of their own rules and most wont live in the city because of their rules. HE OWN`S IT, LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those of you who "think" putting this mature gentleman in jail due to "junk" in his yard, well... SHAME ON YOU!!! And as far as the nice neighborly people that live next to him, he was probably there before y'all bought your places & if this is the case, then YOU KNEW what his property looked like at that time... y'all need to hang your heads in shame.... If his clutter bothers you THAT bad, then do the neiborly thing & offer to help him clean it up!! For cryin out loud, he is 75 yrs old. He has paid taxes all his adult life, he has rolled with the flow... let him be... no respect for the elderly now a days!
as far as him being arrested... BPD OVIOUSLY has nothing better to do.. there is no one to shoot hanging around... so they gotta pick on a Senior Citizen in our community!! And oh yea, I am TOTALLY offended that the funds I pay in taxes is going towards an issue as unworthy as this one... BPD NEEDS to go take a bite out of crime & get the real criminals, not the elderly!!
James & Steve, I sure glad this isn't your father
or grandfater that is being shown prejudice... cuz if it were, I am sure y'all would have a different opinion.. Y'all NEED to get a life (as well as respect)

peace out

When I saw this on the news yesterday I was a bit heated, first of all the man is 75 YEARS OLD!! Okay, I understand all of the laws and such but let us all think of this, does anybody know weather this man has any way to remove a lot of this stuff?
I believe that ANY person that believes that a 75 year old man should go to jail over this is INHUMAN! Instead of everyone of the neighbors saying it needs to be cleaned up, why don't some of you big mouthed people go and offer to help him remove it?? How the heck is a 75 year old supposed to move all that? In fact if someone knows this mans address I would be MORE than willing to get a group of NICE and CARING people together to go and help this man out. I am pained to think that taxpayer money is being spent on court costs and all that instead of focusing on REAL crime like murder and rape! I am sad for my kids to have to grow up in a land where people try bullying a 75 year old into cleaning up his yard. Have some compassion people, why contribute to the problem negatively when we can help him out?

If this is not a subdivision with CCR's LEAVE HIM ALONE. I have a neighbor with lots of 'stuff' in his backyard that impacts the VIEW in my yard. I am putting up a barrier in MY YARD!! Not asking him or demanding that HE improve MY VIEW. It is RIDICULOUS that he spent ANY TIME IN JAIL over this. Jail is for real criminals, not neighbors who don't adhere to the others ideas of 'clean' He could live next to me anytime. I respect HIS lifestyle as I want him to respect MINE. Take pride in your own property and leave your neighbor alone. I have friends who lived in picture perfect neighborhoods, everyone took pride in their property, EVEN THE METH COOK next door they busted. Get off his ass and mind your own business. I live in Meridian and border Meridian City property that would blow your mind the awful condition it is kept in. City owned property with a Code Enforcement Officer and they can't 'clean up their own backyard'.

zoning enforcement officers are NOT police officers - different jurisdictions, different roles, no guns, no cuffs

how much is too much? how much of something is a problem? any wells in this area getting contmainated by leaching oil, gas, lead, etc. from all these good things? what happens when he abandons this mess? the city will be forced to pick up the tab to clean it up, all of it. And if you think enforcement is expensive, imagine clean up costs. It's fiscally responsible of the city to ask for compliance now rather than wait for the bill later.

your rights are your rights until it infringes on the rights of others. just like some idahoans don't want a nuclear power plant in their backyards, others don't want landfills in their backyard. property values are affected by your neighbors and their inability to manage their properties infringes on your property values (rights) and poses risks like contamination or fire.

he can keep his stuff, he just needs to contain it. build a shed and stuff it full. what no one can see doesn't hurt anyone (for the most part and until that stuff is abandoned). easy fix...

Picked on?... Please! Society sets these standards. The ordinances that he has violated weren't invented yesterday and they certainly weren't invented just to make it look like he is being picked on. Get real. We all have to abide by the same laws. Read your city ordinances and get involved! Why should he get to whine he's 75 waaahhh... ! You have 75 years of wisdom empowering you on coming up with a solid positive solution to this repeated offense! Your yard is offensive! clean it up! come up with a solution mr. and face the music. We all would have to if we let things go that bad! It's not all just about you. You can hire a neighborhood kid to help you sort that stuff and mow your lawn. heck the whole neighborhood would probably help you! or sell it all on ebay and take a cruise. Bottom line is you are not above the standards that ALL of us here are a part of. If you were my neigbor, I would help you! Quit whining and get busy.

Interesting story. Can see both sides of the story. I live in Nampa and many properties are like the one described here and it does not seem to be a problem for the City - perhaps because many are hispanic and I am told it is culturally acceptable to be cluttered and therefore nothing is done about it (in the name of diversity and respecting other cultures?)

I have neighbors like this and there are no CCR's so even though I dont like it because it is an eyesore to me - it is still the neighbors land to do what they want with it. When government starts controlling peoples lives for the sake of "beauty" which is in the eyes of the beholder (and perhaps culturally different) - we start looking like a socialist nation.
Leave the guy alone (he probably was the first in the neighborhood) and perhaps the neighbors should move away to improve their view.That is what I am doing.
Thanks for your time.

WOW, there are some heartless people above! Neighbors, help the old man out! If he's on retirement/Social Security I'm sure he couldn't afford to pay someone to haul the stuff away or to even straighten it up. How about all you busy body neighbors use the mans materials laying around in his yard to build a huge shed for the smaller stuff & if you don't like the looks of the vehicles sitting around then buy the man some covers to throw on them. How about a barn raising event & fund raiser to help him? What about finding a mechanic, auto body shop worker, etc. to fix the vehicles up for him! I'm sure there are some people around here that would help the poor man out FREE! Instead of being busy bodies & calling the authorities on your neighbor, be a better neighbor & help him! Your upset because his lawns not mowed? Do it for him or send your own kids to do it for the man! Teach them compassion instead of complaining! Here's a novel idea! GET A LIFE! And NO he doesn't deserve to be put in jail like a common criminal! He's an elderly man! I hope someday YOU as an elderly person suffer at he hands of YOUR neighbors & see how it feels!

You people who don't get it must not have someone like this living next to you. I turned in 3 houses to the city just last week. My neighborhood has 150 homes and 5 of them are in foreclosure. These poor people are trying to sell their homes so they don't have to destroy their lives. When potential buyers see a house like that near by they are likely going to pass on buying the house for sale. So why should people who (by no fault of theirs) have lost their jobs and now are losing their homes be punished by allowing an individual to not upkeep his yard. If you want to have a crappy yard don't live in the city.
Granted jail time seems extreme, but it sounds like he has ignored the city for years. At some point they have to protect his neighbors home values.

What happened to the American Dream "Freedom", he owns that land. Our forefathers wanted us to have freedom from just this kind of thing. If you consider this application of city ordinances no body owns anything and everyone can go to jail over something.

My gosh leave him alone, I think there should be some kind of clause for people over 70. These elderly people will be gone and lets deal with it then. Please dont jail him, what good does it do? Nothing!

I agree with Savannah's commets. Further, there is something wrong with the Judge to place a 75 year person in jail. Hasn't the inexperienced Judge heard of alternative sentencing? The Judge should be removed from the judicial system. He is just like some in the legislature. "Break the Law" go to jail or prison.

Understand that this man enjoys collecting. If you have something you enjoy, you can understand his actions. If, the city enforced the codes on everybody that was violating them, for the same reason Mr. Grey has, I know for a fact the jail would not hold them all if it were empty. Yes he has a fair amount of stuff, but he also lives on 1.5 acres, and should be grandfathered in. Also, at some point in the coming years, it will not look like it does if he has nobody to pass it on to that will take the same attitude and passion he has. I imagine he has it all figured out, but for you fuss budgets, in time, it may change. I have much more than he on my property, but am in the county luckily. Blaming the governement seems futile, as the government is made up of the people. I see no harm in his way of life, and if you watch the news, there are other ways of life that seem far more destructive, violent, parasitic. Mr Grey is not a parasite, like some....

I live in this guys neighborhood. I have known him for several years. He was at one point the water master for the irrigation for our area. He is a grouchy old man and even when we offer to help with something small he will bite your head off. I have two teenagers that have gone and offered to cut his grass for him and he told them to get off his property or he would call the cops. So not all the neighbors are the bad guys here.

Maybe the neighbors should pitch in and build him a privacy fence, if they don't want to look at it. I take pride in how my yard and place looks, but it's his right not to.

wow i think its just wrong that they would do that to the old old guy sheesh!! to me i think law enforcement is getting a little to greedy with their law enforcement ability although thats just my opinion

There are probably reasons why law enforcement has to do something. I wouldn't think jail time is necessary! No matter how good Mr. Gray's intentions are at this time of his life, do you think he will ever get all of those jobs done? Not only is it an eyesore, it is a fire hazzard. Why doesn't the city go in and clean it all out, take the cars for scrap metal to help pay for it, and charge Mr. Gray for the rest of it? If he wants to sell it, do it. He is probably to overwhelmed and doesn't even know where to start. Mr. Gray, hopefully you would feel a lot better knowing you wouldn't have to deal with law enforcement again.

I know it's a little late, but has been a neighbor of this property for 35 years and his parents were very nice and kept the place beautiful, when they past they left him a living will worth millions, (no Joke) He was going to the Main street auction every week spending $1000, and bringing junk in.(It is proven in court records) He had a list of all the trash routes and would go pile it in his truck and yard, I personally put out old trash and then the next day find it sitting in his front yard and had to look at it for at least 6 month, Mr. Gray's Lawyer had Psyc. testing done on him and they said he did know right from wrong. He is not a nice man at all when his father past he was up on charges for beating him, but his father past away before the court date. When my husband had alzhiemr's he would come into our yard and when my husband told him to get out, he went to hit my husband luck , my son and I were out there to stop him! At least 5 of the neighbors have offered to help himonly to get screamed and yelled at, he play nice for the camera. The junk is over whelming. He has money to put up a privacy fence, but that would take out the fun over annoying all the neighbors. very glad to see he is allowing folks to come help now, but sad people are donating time and business are donating equiment when they don't know the whole truth, this man never serve our country and he has the money just refuses to clean it up, you should check out the court records!

Who is the Judge? I want to be sure I don't vote for them in the future. This man is on probation as well? The city is sure getting it's pound of flesh!For shame. I'm very glad that someone has a heart and came to help this old fellow.