Ex-Cop Rips Off Refugees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

OAKLAND SLUMLORD HOLDS TENANT’S POSSESSIONS HOSTAGE 

On Tuesday, May 21, 2002, at 2:00 pm, tenant attorneys, activists, and community members will gather at the courthouse steps, located at 201 13th Street in Oakland, to demand that Oakland slumlord, Robert Miller, return the personal possessions of his former tenant, Pedro Santay. Mr. Santay, a refugee from Central America, along with his four kids and wife, have been homeless since April 25, 2002, when they were forcefully evicted from their home in East Oakland. Robert Miller has since refused to return any of Mr. Santay’s personal possessions, including his family’s clothing and children’s school papers and books, as required under the law.

At that time, BAY AREA LEGAL AID, a non-profit legal services organization, will argue a Motion to Compel in department 31 of the Oakland Superior Court, attempting to force Robert Miller to return Mr. Santay’s possessions.

Since September of 1997, Pedro Santay and his family lived at their East Oakland residence in slum-like conditions. The bathroom paint contained lead, the stove and heater were broken, there was excessive mildew throughout the unit, and the cockroach infestation was so severe that Mr. Santay was forced to rush his three-year old son to the emergency room because a cockroach was lodged in his ear.

After Mr. Santay was evicted, his former neighbors witnessed Robert Miller trashing Mr. Santay’s kitchen table and sofa. Robert Miller has indicated to THE EVICTION DEFENSE CENTER, a non-profit legal services organization assisting Mr. Santay, that he intends to sell Mr. Santay’s remaining possessions, which include a brand new computer, a large screen television, and other valuable electrical equipment.  

PRESS CONTACT

Gina Amato

510-452-4541

EVICTION DEFENSE CENTER