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JackO1 (California)
Posts: 1
Posted:
Allied Van Line – Renter’s Moving Out Incident
Date of Occurrence - Wednesday, August 25, 2010
• Location: San Diego, CA
• Moving Company: Allied Van Lines

Around 6:30PM on the evening of Wednesday, August 25, 2010 I approached the driver of an Allied Van Line Moving truck & informed him that I was the President of the HOA & that if he was planning on leaving the huge moving van (occupying up to 4 guest parking places) overnight that it was a violation of our Homeowners Association CC&R’s – Covenant, Conditions & Restrictions (community By-Laws). The homeowner must get prior written approval from the HOA Board to park his vehicle overnight. As the president, I knew of no special privileges granting this renter overnight parking. Juneberry Ct. is a private road within our community but accessible to the public. This is not a gated community.

He then became extremely argumentative, combatant & confrontational. He said he would not move & that I should contact the police if I so desired. I walked away stating I would then he proceeded to yell out obscenities & sexually orientation slang in the attempt to intimidate.
I walked into my home on 4885 Juneberry Ct. directly across the street from where the van was parked. I telephoned the San Diego Police department & they dispatched a patrol car within 15 minutes. The officer spoke to the driver then drove off without speaking to me of their conversation.
At approximately 7:15PM the driver of the vehicle was standing in front of my home on the sidewalk (a common area) yelling obscenities again & demanding I come out of my home. He then started throwing objects at the exterior of my home. At this time I telephoned the SD Police department again to inform them of his behavior. This behavior escaladed to the degree where I felt unsafe in my own home. He then walked onto my porch & started pounding on my front door with multiple fists at a rapid acceleration & ringing the door bell multiple times & at a rapid acceleration demanding I come out & speak with him. This continued for 15-20 minutes causing my dog & myself to feel our lives were in danger & my property was about to be destroyed. From the inside of my closed front door I told him to get off of my property & to go away. He continued his irrational behavior of pounding on my front door & ringing my door bell with tremendous force. The window shutters were drawn in the room which faced the front porch so I opened the shutters noticing that there were 2 people (the driver & 1 other person) at my front door pounding & ringing my door bell. I again stated I would not be coming out & that I wanted them off of my property. I was hoping the police would arrive & handle this but they did not arrive. At the onset of this incident I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. While I was waiting for the police to arrive to deal with these people I went back to the kitchen & continued to prepare dinner. These individuals & their behavior did not cease therefore I went to the front door & opening it with the kitchen knife I was using to prepare my food. The knife was in my right hand & my left hand was on the front door knob. With my right hand I motioned to them to get off of my porch stating this was my private property & I wanted them to leave. I never stepped outside of my home. After stating this fact, I closed my front door & went back to the kitchen. The pounding stopped so I went up to my bedroom to see where they went. At which time I noticed there were multiple police around my home with dogs pointing at the front of my home. I was afraid these 2 people damaged something on my porch so I exited my home from the garage (in the back of my home) when a police officer demanded I get on my knees with my hands behind my head. The police officer placed hand cuffs on me & told me to stand. He asked where was I going when I told him that I thought the men damaged the front of my home so I was going out this way to find out what they did. He then had the 2 people come & identify me. The officer escorted me into my home where they told me I was going to be arrested. I asked him why when he said "I think you know why". I explained to the officer what had happened but he didn't seem interested in my side of the story. The officer then had a neighbor take care of my dog, turned my TV off, & ensured the stove was off where I was cooking dinner. He then placed me into his patrol car & read me my Miranda rights. He then asked me if I was willing to talk to him any longer after my Miranda rights were read. I asked him if I did would he stop arresting me & he said no so I said I had nothing more to say to him. I will speak to my lawyer. A friend of mine arrived after I was taken away and he approached an officer showing his identification badge & telling him that he worked for the Sheriffs' Department. He asked the officer what happened to me and why. The Police Officer told him that the van driver told them that I was chasing after him with a knife and that is why I was arrested. This was a complete lie!

When I was booked into jail I learned that my bail was $30,000. So in order for me to be released I needed to come up with $3,000 or stay in jail for 3 days. I contacted a bails bond agent who put up the $30,000 but their fee was 10% - $3,000 for their services. At approximately 8:45AM the next day I was released from the San Diego County Jail and was requested to return in 8 days to be arraigned by the SD District Attorneys' office. When I returned for my arraignment the court/DA Office supplied me with a formed letter stating "NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN ON THE CASE. The reports have not yet been received or reviewed by the District Attorney's Office. If a decision is later made to file charges, you will either be notified by mail or a warrant will be issued for your arrest. If you are notified by mail, the letter will include the nature of the charge(s), date, time and location for your court appearance. If you fail to appear pursuant to this notice, a warrant could be issued for your arrest." I call the DA's Office once a month as instructed by them to find the status of my case. Each time I call they tell me it's still under review:

I asked my fellow board members (a 5 member board) for reimbursement out of our reserve funds for the money ($3000) I put up to get out of jail on bail. Our management company stated I would not be allowed to vote so the final vote was 2 for & 2 against since majority rules the item died. Therefore I decided to place a claim against our HOA's Liability Insurance 'Directors & Officer Liability policy. The management company & the HOA was notified of my claim by the insurance agent so the board placed a hold on it until they seek legal advice.

I was falsely arrested & am out $3000. What recourse would you recommend?

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569
Posted:
You were NOT falsley arrested ... the POs had a report of public threats made with a lethal weapon ... they did their job properly ... situation defused -> no one injured.

The DA office did their job ... no charges filed.

Your ONLY recourse is against the person(s) who filed a false report with the police ... good luck with that.

?? You paid $3,000 to avoid 3 days of free room and board ??

You could have posted the $30,000 bail which would have been totally returned, but, it probably would have taken 3 days to obtain liquid assets. This is how bondsmen make their money! (they in effect loaned you $30,000 in return for a 10% 'fee')

better luck next time

SharonB6 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 70
Posted:
Yeah I would say this would be a civil lawsuit against the truck driver..

I don't think that the HOA would be responsible for this or any of their insurances.
SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699
Posted:
Three separate issues:

1. Someone parked where they were not supposed to.
2. Assault: when he then started throwing objects at the exterior of my home.
3. You threatened someone with a knife to get off your property

The police are dealing with your knife issue. If you wish to have them deal with the assault issue against you, you need to let them know and press charges.

Or, just pay the interest, and let it go.
MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 388
Posted:
Jack,

What recourse would I recommend? Well, for starters leave liberal CA and move to another state where a property owner has the right to defend their home, vehicle and self. That truck driver would have been facing a loaded pistol if he came to my house threatening me or my family!!

Regarding your claim for the $3,000 bond; I don't believe the HOA should be resp for this. If the DA should decide to bring you to trial would you expect the HOA to pay your legal expenses too? You took it upon yourself to confront this person and I hope you learned your lesson that it's not wise to verbally issue a violation warning to anyone. You never know what type person you're dealing with.
JeanneK3 (Maryland)
Posts: 562
Posted:
Probably would have been best if you had your management company deal with the whole thing.
Jeanne
JeanneK3 (Maryland)
Posts: 562
Posted:
Probably would have been best if you had your management company deal with the whole thing.
Jeanne
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
You acted as a member of the Board to uphold the covenants of the Association. Identified yourself as a member of the board and were arrested for those actions. With the expectation that you did not brandish a weapon, The Association should now take responsibility for all legal fees and expenses related to this incident.

As a side note (with 20/20 hindsight) I also believe that when the police showed up the first time to talk with the driver, you should have walked out and joined them (since you said that you saw them discussing the issue with the driver). Had you done this, the rest may have been avoided.
DJ1 (Ontario)
Posts: 798
Posted:
When you called the police at the time they were pounding on your door etc, did you call 911, or just the regular line. If you call 911 and there is an immediate danger like this I would have thought the police would be there right away.

If someone were truly afraid for their life they wouldn't have opened the door, with, or without a knife, imo.
JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219
Posted:
Wow ... multitude of issues here.

You were cooking and happended to answer the door with the knife in your hand, but never left the inside of your home. This does not seem an appropriate reason to arrest regarding a weapon, do you have neighbors who can testify? Just like Mary stated, if it had been my home when the door opened they would have legally been running full speed off my porch or quickly backing off with their hands in the air.

The big mistake you made was as soon as the police arrived you should have walked out the front door with your hands empty and immediately spoke with the officers letting them know that you were the one who telephoned the police. You then would have told them your side of the story. When you went out the back door, this made you appear the guilty party. So, why did you not just walk out the front door as the police were there and it would have been safe?

I'm on the fence here regarding bond and legal fees. Everything started due to you fulfilling your duties; however, the main reason you ended up arrested was due to your dumb action of appearing to "sneak" out the back door. If you had gone out the front door and spoken with the police as soon as they arrived, then I would tend to say yes they should possibly help you out ... but that did not happen.

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