Woman Gets Jail Term for Trash-Filled Home

A Cal State Long Beach professor who for 14 years defied demands that she clean up her garbage-ridden Huntington Harbour home was sentenced Tuesday to three months in jail.

The sentence, considered exceedingly stiff for a code violation case, caps a long-running legal battle between Elena Zagustin and her neighbors over the rubbish-filled home.

“The idea of putting someone in jail for this would be shocking,” said City Atty. Gail Hutton. “But the fact is, when we’re faced with an extraordinary case of intransigent behavior, drastic measures have to be taken.”

In reaching his decision, Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert H. Gallivan expressed frustration with Zagustin, a civil engineering professor.

“The court is confused by your apparent intelligence and education, and yet your inability to comply with zoning ordinances,” Gallivan said.

He gave Zagustin one month to comply with orders to clean up the home before her jail sentence is set to begin. He also ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

Several neighbors said the sentence was far too lenient.

“I’m not impressed at all. It’s the same old, same old,” said David Flynn, who lives across the street from Zagustin. “She’s not mentally capable of coming into compliance.”

Neighbors have complained for years that Zagustin’s home is filled with trash, human waste stored in buckets, and rodent and insect infestation.