Soldier's Florida home demolished while he was stationed in Iraq

MIAMI -- A federal judge has slammed Miami-Dade County for knocking down the home of an active United States soldier, CBS Miami reports.

The county sent a number of violation notices.

The U.S. Army Staff Sergeant said he was doing what he could while fighting overseas, but the county demolished his home anyway.

All that is left is an empty field with a tattered American flag and a sign that says: "This is how the U.S. Government thanks the service of an active army soldier."

CBS4 spoke with Sergeant First Class Jesus Jimenez who's now stationed in Texas about what happened to his home.

"That happened while I was in active duty in Iraq," said Jimenez.

He was in Iraq to teach soldiers how to handle explosive devices.

Jimenez and his wife, Laure, received notices for building code violations for a dangerous porch, bad roof and faulty electrical wiring in the home.

"When this all started, the request was impossible to meet. You need to bring your house to current code even though it was built in 1947 and you have 30 days," said Jimenez.

Read this article:
Soldier's Florida home demolished while he was stationed in Iraq