A Pasco County homeowner has been living as a fugitive for six months, hiding in another state after her homeowner's association obtained an arrest warrant over unpaid fines and fees stemming from lawn and property violations.Yi ng Pang, who owns a two-story home in the Northwood of Pasco County community in Wesley Chapel, arrived at our newsroom for an interview in a borrowed SUV that has served as her home at times over the past six months. "Sometimes I live inside the car. Sometimes I just lay down on the street," Pang said.Pang said she cannot return to the home she has owned since 2010 in the community of 850 homes, where the median list price is $580,000. She worries neighbors will call law enforcement if she returns."I don't think that if I go to the jail, I can still survive," Pang said.An arrest warrant signed by a judge in late June charges Pang with contempt of court.Pang, a licensed medical technologist who immigrated from China more than three decades ago, is currently hiding in another state."I'm very scared. I drive very slowly," Pang said.Years of violations led to legal troublePang's trouble started in 2018 when her HOA began citing her for parking violations, holiday lights, garbage containers left out too long and discoloration on her home. "It's 100 violations or about that for last seven years," Pang said. "Every time I have to do whatever they ask."Pang said she repeatedly pressure-washed and painted her home, but the violations continued. She believes the HOA targeted her. When Pang received the violations, she was renting her home to tenants.Neighbor Jen Lavelle said Pang's renters and their guests caused problems in the quiet suburban neighborhood. "There was like naked women coming out of the house," Lavelle said. "Like to come and get the mail and everything."Pang said she did not think there was a problem with her tenants, who moved out at the beginning of this year.By 2023, repeated violations led to $534.98 in fines and a lawsuit filed by Northwood of Pasco Homeowners Inc.Court documents show Pang agreed to settle the case in March 2024 and pay the HOA's attorney fees of $5,500. But Pang never paid the fines or fees, parted ways with her attorney and countersued the HOA, alleging "a pattern of unfair and unlawful conduct" including "harassment, discriminatory enforcement and abuse of legal process."Court records show a judge ruled in the HOA's favor after Pang failed to attend court hearings and mediations, resulting in a contempt of court order alleging Pang failed to fill out a required fact sheet.Not an isolated caseThis case follows another HOA arrest that gained national attention in July when Riverview woman Irena Green was arrested after missing a court hearing to prove she replaced dead grass in her front yard."I sat in there for seven days. Seven days in the jailhouse. Like a criminal," Green said.Stetson Law School Professor Paul Boudreaux said contempt orders are not common in civil cases. "One hears about it in like child support cases, pretty rare in other kinds of civil cases," Boudreaux said. "It is pretty extreme. It certainly is."When asked about the arrest warrant for Pang, neighbor Lavelle said she would support legal action."I'm not a judge or anything, but I would be in agreement with any legal entity that thought someone should be arrested," Lavelle said.Property deteriorating without an ownerWhen Pang learned deputies showed up to arrest her, she left her home."I was homeless. For several months," Pang said through tears. "I cannot [go back]. I'm really scared."In the meantime, issues with her house are getting worse. The pool has turned green and swamp-like without power or maintenance. "It's because no power, no one lives there. And I have run out of the money to take care of that," Pang said.The Northwood HOA's attorney declined to be interviewed.Court records show Pang can make the arrest warrant go away if she fills out and returns the fact information sheet. But Pang said she refuses to do it because she worries about what the HOA will do with her personal information."They have absolute power. They control everything," Pang said.Pang said she is considering selling the home before her HOA is able to foreclose on it over the fines and legal fees. ...read more read less