FEBRUARY LCPIA MEETING TOPIC: LANDLORD SAFETY
WHERE:
American Legion Gurnee Post #771
Located 1 block east of Rt. 21 at Grand Avenue in Gurnee.
WHEN:
February 10, 2009
6:30 p.m. (Registration 6:00 to 6:30)
Aug 24, 2008 | CHICAGO | The 77-year-old South Side landlord who was set on fire last week, allegedly by a 28-year-old former tenant, has died.
Harlan Hayes was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. Sunday, according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
Police responding to a fire about 2 a.m. Tuesday found Hayes screaming for help on a sidewalk in the 6300 block of South Ellis Avenue.
Hayes told police he had answered an early knock at his door at 6319 S. Ellis Ave. when a former tenant drenched him with gasoline and lit him on fire.
Hayes was initially taken to University of Chicago Hospitals in critical condition with third degree burns to more than 90 percent of his body. Hayes was doused with an accelerant and lit on fire inside his building, police said.
A tenant who called 911 after seeing smoke coming from Hayes’ apartment said Hayes had asked the alleged arsonist to move because of illegal activities in the apartment. He would not specify the type of illegal activities.
The tenant said he thought he heard noises in the former tenant’s apartment just before Tuesday’s incident.
The former tenant, Donald Hardy, 28, of the 800 block of East 65th Street, was charged Friday afternoon with attempted first-degree murder.
Hardy turned himself into Grand Crossing District police on Thursday after realizing he had been identified as a person of interest, police said.
A judge denied bond for Hardy during a Saturday morning hearing.
(Source: Chicago Sun-Times)
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Like it or not, landlords engage in high-risk activity all the time. From working alone in vacant units to meeting strangers at all hours, it’s a wonder we aren’t victims of violence more often.
Join us February 10 and learn how to take precautions to avoid becoming a victim.
LCPIA member Mel Metts has adapted a presentation from the Arlington Heights Police Department that was created for Realtors.
You will learn how to protect yourself when showing vacancies, minimize risk in your daily activities, and reduce chances of identity theft on the Internet.
Filed under: commentary, education | Tagged: landlord safety, real estate, rent, rental
Landlady killed trying to evict tenant
(COLUMBUS, Ga.) – A real estate agent was killed while attempting to evict a tenant from property she owned.
Police said Herta Bailey, 70, was attempting to either collect past due rent or evict tenant Ricky Powell, 39, when violence erupted.
They believe Powell strangled the agent and put her body in the trunk of her car.
Powell was arrested after using one of the agent’s credit cards to pay his overdue utility bills.
Murder accomplice in Boundary County Jail
By JULIE GOLDER Staff Writer
A former Priest Lake woman who admitted to her involvement in the murder of her landlord so she could get a $55,000 escrow check is being housed in Boundary County Jail.
Tyrah Brown was transported to Bonners Ferry Fri-day after pleading at the courthouse in Sandpoint guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and grand theft. The 27-year-old, who had been kept at the Bonner County Jail since her arrest in Florida on March 20, 2007, will remain here for six months so she can get counseling, which her attorney believes will lead to Brown’s rehabilitation.
Bonners Ferry counselor Mona Kim-Brown will be working with Tyrah Brown.
“Brown is receiving cognitive reasoning counseling and receiving the tools for her to make better decisions in the future,” Woods said, “Mona Kim-Brown is laying the right foundation with Tyrah, helping her implement a good frame of mind to help her transition back into society.”
“Tyrah wants to become a productive member of society,” said Woods.
Brown has been jailed for nearly two years in connection with the shooting death of Leslie Carlton Breaw, 48, in January 2007. Brown’s husband Keith, was charged with first-degree murder and grand theft and will go to trial this summer. Keith Brown is currently being held at the Bonner County jail.
Tyrah Brown initially confessed to the killing, recanting later saying that she was not directly involved and maintains she was not present when Breaw was shot. A polygraph supported her statement. The amended murder charge of accessory to murder states that she was aware of the murder, but with held information from authorities, essentially assisting her husband after the murder.
Tyrah Brown claims she did not know that the $55,000 escrow check made out to Breaw was stolen, but deposited it into the couple’s account. The check was converted to cash after the couple fled Idaho.
Both of Tyrah Brown’s pleas were entered as part of an agreement between the state and the defense that were in negotiations for a year. The maximum sentence for the accessory charge is five years and the theft charge is punishable by up to 14 years.
Under the plea agreement the concurrent prison sentences would be suspended, with Tyrah Brown serving six months in county jail then probation.
“Keeping her in Boundary County keeps her (Tyrah Brown) from having to be transported from Bonner to Boundary County once a week for her counseling session,” said Woods.
(Thanks to Doug Jacobs for supplying this article.)
Remember the Clarence Thomas / Anita Hill fiasco?
No? Maybe you’re too young. At any rate the issue was sexual harassment.
Shortly after that event, my employer conducted training for all managers to sensitize them to sexual harassment issues and promulgate company policies dealing with sexual harassment complaints. Other companies did the same thing; sexual harassment training had suddenly become urgent.
Remember the Minneapolis bridge collapse? Yes?
Immediately following the collapse, transportation officials urgently ordered engineering inspections of highway bridges throughout the country.
Remember the Lake County landlady that was killed by a prospective renter? No?
That’s because it hasn’t happened yet…not in Lake County.
If it does happen, you can rest assured that everybody will be creating safety courses to teach you how to avoid becoming a victim. Suddenly, landlord safety will be urgent!
Landlord safety is already important! Don’t wait until something terrible happens before taking steps to protect yourself and your employees.
Mark your calendar now for our Landlord Safety meeting February 10th. This stuff might save “somebody’s” life.
Bring “somebody” along.