WOMAN SHOOTS HUSBAND IN SPAT OVER HOA, POLICE SAY
Neighbors say woman ‘obsessed’ with HOA rules violations.
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.”
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 records given 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.
“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 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 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.”