Loud music blared from the apartment next door to John Moore’s home on May 1 as the Oklahoma City man scrambled to load his and his aunt’s belongings onto a trailer attached to his father’s truck. The 47-year-old man favored his right leg while loading out his home; he’d lost the toes on his left foot to frostbite 18 months earlier.
Moore’s elderly aunt, Kay White, 72, sat on a single mattress on the apartment’s living room floor, anxiously rubbing her temples and wringing her hands. Moore acts as a care provider for his aunt, who suffers from symptoms of dementia.
The two were on a deadline to pack up and leave apartment B, building 3308 at Apartments in the Park, a complex at 3250 SE 44 in Oklahoma City.
They were evicted. This was the day a sheriff’s deputy would likely show up to forcibly remove them if they weren’t out.
What happened while Moore was asleep inspired apartment manager Bobbie Beagle to serve Moore a 48-hour notice to quit, followed by a summons to eviction court.
Moore was considered responsible for the actions of his unexpected visitor under the terms of the crime-free lease addendum and zero-tolerance drug policy he had signed along with his lease.
Evictions for criminal activity are somewhat common, with several each month in Oklahoma County. Even a single police visit to a unit can prompt eviction proceedings.
Tenants often don’t realize when signing those lease additions that they can be evicted for the actions of their visitors.
Many renters sign criminal-free addendums and zero-tolerance drug policies, along with their leases, said attorney Shari Ray. She is a Legal Aid Services Oklahoma lawyer who represented Moore in his eviction hearing.
In Moore’s case, the crime-free lease addendum lists as grounds for eviction any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety or peaceful enjoyment of the premises, “committed by a tenant, any member of the tenant’s household, or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control.”
Moore’s new acquaintance, Hunter Locust, stopped by Moore’s apartment of his own volition before 7 a.m. Moore was asleep and unaware Locust was outside his front door.
Just days later, Judge M. Brooke Holman ruled against Moore in eviction court, stating that Moore had “interrupted a trespass situation” that occurred between Locust and Oklahoma City Police officers.
Officers on the scene, however, determined Locust was not trespassing since Moore eventually woke and confirmed that he knew Locust and that he was welcome to visit.
Moore said his only mistake was opening the front door to see what was happening on his front porch, as he awoke to the commotion outside.
Unfortunate Timing for a Visit
Locust said he stopped by that chilly morning to charge his phone and heat a breakfast sandwich. When nobody answered his knock, he sat and waited on the stairs in the apartment breezeway, smoking a cigar.
Shortly thereafter, an upstairs neighbor called security and guard Freddie Beagle arrived.
After a brief conversation and Locust revealed the knife he had in his waistband. That’s when Beagle allegedly forced the much smaller Locust on the ground, handcuffing him. Beagle frisked and searched Locust, finding two drug pipes.
He was about to search Locust’s bag when Oklahoma City Police Officer Nicole Frieson arrived. Frieson told Beagle to remove the handcuffs from Locust’s wrists. Locust said the cuffs were so tight that one of his wrists dislocated.
Moore woke up around that time, opened his door and identified Locust. Officers wrote Locust a warning for criminal activity and let him go with no charges or citations.
Before the officers left, Bobbie Beagle, apartment manager and brother to security guard Freddie Beagle, served Moore with a 48-hour notice to quit – an expedited eviction that speeds the process of forcing a tenant to vacate.
Neither brother was available for comment.
Though Moore had been asleep inside his apartment, he had allegedly violated the criminal-free addendum to his lease when Locust was found with drug paraphernalia.
During Moore’s eviction hearing, Judge Holman trudged through the question of whether Locust was a trespasser, though the police report stated he was not.
Holman stated in her verdict that Moore had violated the crime-free addendum by interfering with a trespass situation – when he opened his door that morning he became involved.
“How can a guest be a trespasser?” Ray said, after Holman handed down the eviction order.
Kay White watches as John Moore moves furniture out of the one-bedroom apartment the two shared at Apartments in the Park before they were evicted for criminal activity by a guest. May 1, 2024 (Heather Warlick/ Oklahoma Watch)
That question was also on Moore’s mind. Police officers had determined that Locust was a guest, who was never asked to leave by the security guard before he cuffed Locust for criminal activity. Ray questioned how Moore could have interfered with a trespass situation when he had identified Locust as an acquaintance and welcome visitor.
If Moore had stayed in bed that morning, instead of exiting his apartment to inquire about the police activity, he might still have a home today.
Instead, he and his 72-year-old aunt have been staying in a cheap motel, trying to find a permanent place to live. It likely won’t be easy with a new eviction on Moore’s record and very little money after spending $1,000 to stay in a motel for a month.
Previous Complaints Precede Moore and White Eviction
This was not the first time a resident or manager at Apartments in the Park had raised complaints about Moore and his aunt.
White had been reported to management for urinating outdoors on the property. An approved occupant on Moore’s lease, White has memory problems and would sometimes wander off while walking her dogs, Moore said.
One resident complained that Moore and White didn’t clean up the grounds after their pet messes. The same resident complained about arguments between the two and that Moore’s apartment smelled dirty.
Though Moore said he and White have their disagreements and even had fallings out at times, as family members do, he wants his aunt with him so he can make sure she is cared for and happy.
“I don’t want her in a nursing home,” Moore said. “If we get kicked out and we get separated, I don’t know where she’s going to go. She might end up in a state facility somewhere.”
Low-Barrier Apartments Have High Expectations of Tenants
Moore is in recovery for drug addiction and has had a couple of relapses, he said, but has been mostly clean for a year and a half, since his frostbite incident. He has a criminal record but said caring for his Aunt Kay has helped him stay clean and make better decisions. He watches over her, making sure she eats and showers and washes her clothing.
White said she doesn’t tolerate drug use from her nephew.
If she had to live in a facility, Moore said, his aunt would be deeply unhappy, being told “what to do, when to do it.”
With him, Moore said, White has autonomy as long as she does what she needs to do for her health and safety.
Moore and White enjoyed living in Apartments in the Park, an affordable community that approved them despite Moore’s previous eviction and criminal record. Low-barrier apartments are important housing options for people who may have difficulty being approved for other affordable housing.
After Moore’s eviction hearing, Ray said there was nothing her client could have done to prevent Locust from sitting on a stair waiting for him.
“All the evidence was hearsay,” she said.
The opposing counsel knows which eviction buzzwords would likely lead the judge toward accepting that criminal activity occurred, she said.
Landlords, especially when armed with attorneys in eviction hearings, hold a lot of sway in court, said Michael Figgins, the executive director of Legal Aid Services Oklahoma.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but certainly there needs to be a recognition that we need to avoid eviction, prevent eviction and that taking someone out of their home should be a last resort.,” Figgins said.
Eviction Attorney Goldman: It’s a Sad Case
John Moore and his aunt, Kay White, emerge from their eviction court hearing on April 24, during which they were evicted from Apartments in the Park. (Heather Warlick/ Oklahoma Watch)
Moore said he hopes to work with the Oklahoma Housing Authority to secure a residence for him and his aunt in a senior living center. They had been approved for such residential assistance previously, he said.
“Kay didn’t want to move, and back then I wasn’t being as stern as I am now,” Moore said.
Now that the two are homeless, White will have to be less choosy.
Low-barrier complexes like Apartments in the Park are among several that Goldman said many of his clients are trying to clean up for the sake of the communities and their residents.
“It’s a sad case,” he said. “It could have been resolved differently and we attempted to do that.”
Moore could have accepted 30 days extra to move out if he had chosen not to fight the eviction, but he wasn’t satisfied with that option. He felt his rights were violated and decided rather than settle outside of court, he’d face the judge and tell his story.
He is dubious about the judge’s verdict of interfering with a trespass, he said, blaming a gap in the system.
“That gap gets smaller depending on how much money you got,” Moore said.
If you don’t know the law and don’t have money for an attorney, the system is going to chew you up and spit you out, Moore said.
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Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
