Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post
By Jorge Milian
Published February 8, 2018
BOYNTON BEACH — A 53-year-old Boynton Beach woman who
shot her husband and herself Monday night had residents in her neighborhood
living in fear and left the community’s homeowners association president
feeling lucky he wasn’t targeted.
Lisa Barreca is facing a charge of attempted first-degree
murder after she shot her husband four times, including once
in the head, following an argument at their home on the 3800
block of Aspen Leaf Drive, off Lawrence Road south of
Hypoluxo Road.
Eric Barreca is hospitalized in stable condition, police
said. Lisa Barreca sustained a non-life threatening gunshot
wound to her right thigh and remained hospitalized Tuesday.
She did not make an appearance in bond court.
Lisa Barreca shot her husband about 7 p.m. Monday after they
argued over homeowners association complaints, according to
an arrest report.
That was no surprise to neighbors who said Lisa Barreca was
“obsessed” with perceived code violations around the Aspen
Glen community and had a longstanding beef with Damien
Ferraiolo, the HOA president who is also a Delray Beach
police officer.
“I think some of those bullets could have been intended for
me or the (HOA vice president) or my family,” Ferraiolo
said. “She is a very unstable, unhappy person. She harassed
several of her neighbors all of the time and had a vendetta
against me.”
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Home located at 3820 Aspen Leaf Drive in Boynton
Beach where a woman faces attempted murder charges after shooting
her husband late Monday in what he says was an argument ‘over HOA
complaints.’
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Ferraiolo said his wife had argued with Lisa Barreca on Monday after Barreca
photographed the Ferraiolo’s 8-year-old son skateboarding on Aspen Leaf
Drive, a cul-de-sac street lined by single-family homes valued at about
$400,000. Ferraiolo believes Barreca was taking photos in order to claim the
boy was violating HOA rules by riding the skateboard in the street.
Neighbors said police were called regularly to the Barrecas’ home, including
a couple of hours before Monday’s shooting. According to a records provided
to The Post, police went to the residence Monday at 4:37 p.m. for a report
of “neighbor trouble.”
Ferraiolo said that Lisa Barreca had been playing music loudly and pointing
a flood light at her next-door neighbor’s home after that person recently
filed a complaint with the HOA against Barreca. Records show that Boynton
Beach police have responded to the Barreca residence seven times since May
for various incidents.
One neighbor said that Barreca was outwardly friendly and always waved when
she walked her dog around the community. But the woman, who asked that her
name not be used, began keeping her distance after she and other residents
received a six-page, single-spaced letter from Barreca last October
detailing complaints about how the community was being maintained and
operated.
In the letter, obtained by The Post, Barreca lists a series of alleged code
violations, from one resident keeping a portable basketball hoop on his
driveway to Ferraiolo parking his patrol car at the entrance of the
community as a visual crime deterrent. In some cases, Barreca refers to
specific addresses in the letter.
“I know some of you will not like me very much after this letter and some
will appreciate my efforts,” Barreca wrote.
Barreca admits receiving a warning from the attorney of a former HOA
president after she photographed an alleged violation at the official’s
home. The attorney’s missive accused Barreca of “stalking” the former
president and being “mentally unstable.”
Ferraiolo said that Barreca served on the HOA board as treasurer for three
months in 2016.
“She wanted to fine everyone for every little thing,” Ferraiolo said. “I
told her that no one is going to want to live in a neighborhood like that.
Because I wouldn’t agree with her, she became a condo commando.”
Barreca resigned after three months as treasurer.
Ferraiolo said he recently filed an incident report with Boynton Beach
police against Eric Barreca after catching the man photographing his home.
Although police said the Barrecas were arguing about HOA issues before the
shooting, the exact nature of the dispute was not detailed.
Eric Barreca told police he followed Lisa Barreca to the garage of their
home as the argument escalated and that “she retrieved her firearm from her
car.”
He “slapped and pushed Lisa who then shot him multiple times,” the arrest
report said. Police said the man sustained gunshot wounds to his head, both
arms, his right leg and his back.
Lisa Barreca told police she “was in fear” and invoked her right to legal
counsel. The report said the gunshot wound to the man’s back indicated he
was fleeing from Barreca, not attacking.
The woman showed “no signs of emotion or remorse” for the shooting and did
not ask about her husband’s condition, an officer wrote in the report.
Police recovered a .380 Ruger handgun from the home, as well as seven spent
shell casings. Eric Barreca said the gun belonged to his wife but that it
was registered in his name.
Although Lisa Barreca faces a serious charge, Ferraiolo said he’s worried
“we will have to deal with her again.”
“I’ve been bracing my wife, (HOA board members) and everyone that, ‘Listen,
she might be back here in a month,’ ” Ferraiolo said. “Everyone in the
neighborhood is in fear.”
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