An 83-year-old woman said Wednesday that La Quinta city officials “targeted” her for turning her garage into a living space — and because she cannot afford to make the ordered repairs, she is ready to go to jail over the issue.

“I'm mad and frustrated,” Ageda Camargo said. “I am not a criminal. I did nothing wrong. I'm poor. If I cannot get the work done, I will go to jail. I have no choice. I don't even know how much it will cost to repair or fix yet.”

Camargo says she owns the two-bedroom home at 53800 Avenida Montezuma and lives on $513 a month. She said she did not know how she would pay a threatened $3,000 fine and would serve 30 days in jail if she were required.

The city wants Camargo to turn the La Quinta Cove-area building back into a garage, or go through the normal permitting process that enables her to legally convert the garage into living quarters. She said various family members lived in the space, but she did not charge them rent.

La Quinta prosecutor Noam Duzman said he does not want to see an octogenarian go to jail. But he noted that Camargo has been given more than two dozen chances over 18 months to bring the garage in line with the city's building code.

“It is important to remember that the city suggested a fine, and it was Camargo who insisted that a jail term be included instead,” Duzman said.

“Over the course of the case, Camargo has been defiant and consistently rejected the city's offers to bring her property into compliance without the need for any legal action.”

Camargo is charged with doing construction without a permit. She is due back in court Jan. 13, when city officials expect the property to be in compliance. She was notified of the violation in June 2007.

Jury selection in the case had been set to start Monday at the Indio courthouse, but the city gave Camargo until January to satisfy building inspectors, according to her public defender, Charles Kim.

Camargo said the garage has been a living space for 30 years. Her aunt, Vivan Chevalier of La Quinta, said the extended family would do what it could to help.

“This is a terrible hardship,” Chevalier said.

Duzman said Camargo was not being “singled out.” She has been given many chances to comply with the law, “but has always refused.”

A kitchen, bathroom, wiring, windows and an extra door were among the “unpermitted improvements” made over the years, he said, all without the required permits.

“The electrical is probably our greatest concern, because it poses a potential fire risk,” Duzman said.

Duzman said he did not know how much the repairs would cost. He said he was concerned about the health and safety of Camargo and her neighbors.