After 3 fatal shootings, residents at Bradenton mobile home park fear for safety
Pic Town Estates Mobile Home Park isn’t always an easy place to live, its residents say. But for the past month, which has seen three people shot to death, it has been downright scary for many.
Following the series of deadly shootings, the Bradenton Herald visited the community around the 1200 block of 50th Avenue West in Bradenton to hear from residents. Several agreed to share their experience but declined to share their full names out of concern for their safety.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has made arrests in each case. Law enforcement officials have also said both shootings were “isolated incidents,” but some community members remain fearful.
For one couple that has lived there for four years, the recent spate of shootings and the feeling of uneasiness that followed is enough to uproot and move their family of five to Wauchula, even if it means commuting to Bradenton for work every day.
“That’s what I’m willing to do to get out of here. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I moved here,” said the father, one of the residents who declined to share his name.
His partner, Jessica, said they are moving immediately and already got an offer on their mobile home.
Three deadly shootings in one month
Most recently, 18-year-old Nicholas Dickinson was found dead inside his home on July 9 by a roommate. He was shot once in the side of his chest in what appears to have been a shoot-out, the sheriff’s office said.
A 16-year-old was arrested Saturday and charged with manslaughter. Deputies believe the teenager fired shots into Dickinson’s mobile home from outside and Dickinson returned fire before being struck with a fatal blow.
After detectives previously believed the two knew each other and that Dickinson may have even been expecting the arrested shooter, the sheriff’s office said the two may not have known each other after all. As of Wednesday afternoon, the motive for Dickinson’s death remains unknown.
The Bradenton Herald does not generally name suspects in crimes who are under the age of 18.
While detectives believe that event to be an “isolated incident,” it did follow Dominique Rogers allegedly killing two people on June 14 at the same trailer park following an argument, according to the sheriff’s office. When deputies arrived, they found Rogers at the house with two victims, who were already dead from gunshot wounds, an arrest report said.
Investigators say Rogers, 28, had been living with the victims for about a week. In two separate conversations with a 911 operator and deputies that responded to the scene, the sheriff’s office said Rogers admitted to shooting both victims.
Rogers was arrested and booked in the Manatee County Jail. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
Residents describe fearful environment
After all that has transpired, Jessica doesn’t feel like her family is safe at the mobile park, to the point where she doesn’t allow her kids to play outside.
“They spend maybe a total of 20 minutes outside per week,” she said.
Jessica is thankful none of her children were home when the last shooting occurred and was surprised that she didn’t hear any gunshots or unusual noises at the time.
Even before the shootings, she said has witnessed evidence of drug raids, gang violence and mental health issues in the neighborhood.
“This place is just gradually getting worse and worse,” Jessica said.
Another couple, also choosing to go unnamed, said they also do not allow their children to play outside at all for the same reason. They moved to Pic Town Estates in October but already want to leave due to concerns for their family’s safety.
Another man, who also chose not to share his name, has been there for years and doesn’t blame his neighbors for wanting to move, especially given the recent shootings.
“It’s not a nice place to live. I wouldn’t want to raise a family here,” he said. “Would you want to raise a family here?”
It wasn’t always this bad, though, he said. The man said a small handful of houses bring most of the problems into the neighborhood.
Others enjoy Pic Town, despite recent violence
Not everyone who lives in Pic Town feels unsafe, though. Sandra Hammock, who has lived there since 2004, thinks it is a good place to live. She said she does her best to keep to herself and not associate with anyone who might get her into trouble.
While she acknowledged that a lot of people are struggling and that others may feel differently, she said she has always felt safe here and that “every street has its problems.”
Bob, who has lived in Pic Town for 23 years, echoed Hammock’s sentiments, saying that the recent issues are isolated.
Both Jessica and Bob pointed to the lack of lot rent or an association as features that give the trailer park a level of freedom that brings positives and negatives.
“Any time you get a park like this with no association where anybody can rent, you’re going to run into the occasional problem,” Bob said.
But he sees Pic Town as somewhere that still has a lot of potential upside, despite whatever reputation it may have gained during the recent killings. Most of all, he just sees it as home.
“When I moved here, it was a beautiful place. I mean, it still is for low-income people. This is a good, cheap place to live. I’ve never had a problem here. It’s just like anywhere else. We’ve got 200 units in this park. You take 200 units anywhere else and you’d have problems there too,” Bob said.
“We hate that things happen, but things happen,” he said.
