Bed bug infestation tied to GJ property mgmt. company

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Several local families say they have lost most of their belongings to a bed bug infestation that's been linked to a Grand Junction property management company.

Kymball Hight, 29, is a disabled veteran. He lost part of his hearing while serving as a U.S. Marine during two tours of duty in Iraq, and one in Afghanistan.

In May 2011, he was told about a low-cost boarding home by his Veterans Advocate at the Grand Junction VA Medical Center. Hight says, "My advocate at the VA recommended this house because there's been a lot of veterans come through this place, so they were known to cater pretty well to veterans."

He moved in to the home at 1217 Colorado Avenue. There were 7 rooms, and several of the other tenants were veterans, and a few of them were disabled, according to Hight.

Hight's mother Shawna Holley says she had some reservations about her son's living situation, because she says their landlord Paul Sullivan only accepted cash, and wouldn't write receipts to the tenants. But he moved in anyway because the rent was cheap. He says his room cost $350, utilities included.

He says last fall, one of the other tenants started complaining about getting bitten by bugs at night. He says, "I remember him talking about getting eat up at night. He thought it was mosquitoes, at the time."

Hight says the problem only got worse, and eventually, they all realized the problem was bed bugs. They complained to the on-site maintenance man, Bruce Bornemann, who says he told his boss Sullivan. They say Sullivan refused to have the home fumigated, and instead sent a man to the home with three cans of Raid, which they say did not get rid of the problem.

Hight says that the issue became the landlord's problem once the bugs spread throughout the house. He says, "They didn't take care of the situation when it became a household issue, if the bugs were in one room, as long as they were in one room, that is kind of that tenants issue, if the bugs are in the entire house it's a house-wide issue, it becomes the homeowner's issue."

Says Hight, "While Raid will kill the adults, it won't harm the eggs."

He says a few of the tenants moved out, and threw away their belongings. He says the others couldn't afford to leave. Bornemann was told to tell all the tenants to remove their items from their rooms and then spray it with bug spray, which he said would be a temporary solution, and wouldn't rid the house of bugs.

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Bed bug infestation tied to GJ property mgmt. company