ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An Orange County community is struggling just to keep themselves safe.
Neighbors told News 6 that drug deals and break-ins at Starlight Ranch, a massive mobile home park off Pershing Avenue, keep happening.
But what would help?
Getting their security gates fixed. Once and for all.
Luis Melendez, who tried and failed to start a Neighborhood Watch Group last March, said it’s been years since the front gate has worked properly.
Melendez said a rear entrance to the community was constructed last year and residents were promised by management it would also be gated.
“The crime has continued,” Melendez said. “We’ve had house break-ins, we have drug activity, we’ve had shootings.”
Over the past half year, management provided multiple updates to residents regarding delays to gate installation and repairs, so Melendez turned to News 6 Anchor Erik von Ancken to get results.
Erik first contacted Starlight’s management last October and was told management hoped to have both front and back gates working by November.
Spokesperson Jennifer Ludovice said management planned to “close the entry gates on November 1, 2024” but needed “to delay the closing of the back gate further... waiting for Duke Energy to install the transformer to power the back gate.”
Erik followed up in November and Ludovice said management planned to “have the gates fully activated as of Monday, December 2, 2024,” but the date was “subject to completion of the necessary electrical work by Duke Energy.”
Erik followed up again in January.
On January 24, 2025, spokesperson Randy Berman said management was “seeking final inspection approvals” and “both the front and back gates are currently operational.”
But Berman referred to gate damage caused by a vehicle.
“Unfortunately the front entrance gate at Starlight was damaged after a vehicle hit it last week and was deemed inoperable,” Berman wrote. “The repair to fix the damage to the gate has taken place.”
Melendez said that is now the latest issue with the gate arms: drivers keep smashing into them and breaking them, rendering them inoperable.
Now that both front and back gates are functional, News 6 is checking with management to see if there’s a solution to prevent the gate arms from being damaged or to repair them more quickly.
We’ll let you know when we hear back.
When Erik visited Starlight Ranch on Monday, the front gate arms were raised for most of the day. Melendez and front office staff told News 6 that’s intentional because of the traffic and because the arms are broken so frequently. that it was
The gates close every day at 6 p.m. — when they’re working — but Melendez said that’s not good enough.
Monday evening, Berman sent this statement to News 6:
“The gates have been functioning as intended and, when needed, we have communicated to residents about gate maintenance,” Berman wrote. “Currently the gates remain open during business hours to help with the flow of residential and business traffic throughout the day. From 6 pm to 8 am, the gates are down, and residents use their keycards to gain entry.”
Berman did not address the frequent breaking of the front gates.