Earlier today we put up a story on Hernando Sheriff’s Office “There was no criminal intent” when Jack Booted Thugs Trashed Out Home NOT in Foreclosure…
The sheriff’s department can’t get involved, because as Mormando explains, there are no arrestable offenses committed.
But, but, but…
Property manager on parole sent back to prison for breaking into tenant’s home
After serving 4 1/2 years in prison for Medicare fraud, Barry Haught returned to Tampa in 2008 and got into the business of buying and renting properties that had been foreclosed on by homeowners associations because the residents didn’t pay their dues.
But on Thursday, U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore ruled that Haught, 57, committed a felony in his new role as landlord and sent him back to prison for four months for violating conditions of his supervised release. After serving the sentence, he will be under supervised release for two years.
On Dec. 30, Haught entered the Brandon home of Terry McPhatter, a tenant who was behind on her rent. With McPhatter at work and two of her children watching, Haught removed the locks from her front door, then destroyed the family’s TV, cable box and a PlayStation by ripping them from the wall and throwing them to the floor, McPhatter testified.
In court, Haught admitted removing the locks but denied damaging the tenant’s property. He told the judge he had been sent by his employer, Ralph Chancey of Tampa, to “send a message” to McPhatter.
“We wanted to let her know the seriousness of our intent to evict her if there was no rent payment,” said Haught, who said he simply moved the TV to the garage.
Haught and Chancey said the lease allowed the landlord to enter and inspect the property at will. But the judge said Florida bans such practices, regardless of what is written into a lease. Whittemore said that by forcibly entering McPhatter’s residence and removing the lock, Haught was guilty of burglary.
You can check out the rest here…
Once again, there are one set of rules for the banks, and another set of rules for everyone else.
Or as Matt Weidner puts it…
“If it is a crime for a landlord to break into a home and change locks when a tenant doesn’t even own the home, why is it not a crime when a bank does this to a property that is owned by the homeowner?”
I guess Haught should of said, “I’m from the bank.”
~
EIF:
Thank heavens for a poster with some ability to advance legal analysis and reasoning. I stopped posting because the posts on this site have become overburdended with the emotional rants of IVENTs crowd adding no useful knowlege to the readership.
Thank you.
Hello and your reply is much appreciated; times are tough and feedback is soothing; one looks for it (admittedly).
Hereabouts, resident-passion seems past and I do feel I get a lot out of all the posts; different boons.
Not trying to be patronizing but actually as an older person I many times yearn for past days when I myself felt more fully the ‘fire in belly’, but I acknowledge the rant phenomenon is an online longtime Netizen feature, yes, part of the Internet ‘thing’.
Thanks again, with warm regards, hope you’ll write, eif.
elders.in.foreclosure@gmail.com.
Oh, as to criminal intent:
depending on the jurisdiction (where it happens or can be otherwise tried) State criminal/penal code usually distinguishes specific and general intent.
For general intent crime it can be enough to sense know feel intuit surmise guess conjecture hypothesize speculate wonder or suspect (as a verb), for example, that an act shouldn’t be done; or there could be just a “should have realized” sense in the air – and its a gotcha and fine or jail.
elders.in.foreclosure@gmail.com
This is unfortunately par for the course……Do as I say, not as I do….The Ponzi Schemers are the only ones get away with such scurilous crimes…Why? TOO MUCH CORRUPTION…..IT IS RAMPANT….
WHERE’S THE HANDCUFFS???????????????????????????/
Well here’s one possible scenario and would like your enlightenment.
It has to do with whether there is a perceived DUTY or not. Will not take up your time to discuss whose perception of DUTY, or mechanisms for enforcement, at least not yet. And the DUTY thing pertains to all of us, Sheriffs and Shire-Reefs too (as a timely example).
For instance (with tongue-crazy-glue-welded to cheek wall) say a released prisoner has a duty not to violate a specific parole condition like “Okay, so promise you won’t trash-out houses that have weeds around them (buzz buzz “inventory”) or other such stuff, or other stuff we won’t list but you get the thread. Promise?” “Yes (hypothetically) I promise”.
We here, from the report(s), know the rest of the present hypo – the promise is made. Ah, fresh air… but then in actual practice its not kept and in epilogue the world cares about “justice” due to a shocked sense of duty-violative behavior – that aint right surely.
Zo … What is needed for argument and action is a plausible and court creditable DUTY on the part of banks (‘cuz we’re discussing banks, but it’s systemic). And btw, what is a list of their duties?
That is- What can we suggest:, maybe (top of the head) “The ‘ DUTY of fair dealing’? ”
Looking forward to comments, and extending regards to all including lurkers,
from elders-in-foreclosure@gmail.com
P.s. There’s a start. Robo-signing protests suggest a sense of violated DUTY .. . somewhere somehow.
Ivent’s right on the mark – get your facts in a row. If its possible.
homeowners unable to get property back from bad tenants without legal costs and then you get stuck with the cleanup, four months behind, $5000 in damages, plus another 30 days to rent to new person, created a deliquent situation for other residence; foreclosed and locked out, took less than 12 months, thankyou federal housing fannie mae, so glad the law is on someones side, knew I was a supporter of principles for the average American, just can’t wait to vote for any issues you may have going forward,
Oops ruth ann sorry I did not see your prior post … was typing not ignoring. EIF..