Security guard, janitor, arrested after forcibly evicting long-term tenants in New Orleans East during pandemic
New Orleans LA April 6 2020 A security guard and maintenance worker were arrested Thursday night after they tried to forcibly evict residents barricaded in an extended-stay motel in New Orleans East.
The incident at the Studio 6 Extended Stay off I-10 and was one of a growing number of ousters that tenants’ rights advocates say have happened at low-cost motels and hotels in recent days despite Gov. John Bel Edwards’ order suspending all evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the New Orleans Police Department, Studio 6 maintenance worker William “Andy” Mackay, 56, and security guard Terrence Shaw, 23, were arrested on aggravated burglary charges late Thursday night.
On Friday, a judge found no probable cause for the arrests and ordered both men released.
Witnesses told police Mackay used bolt cutters to cut a door lock while Shaw barged in with a gun drawn shortly after 8:30 p.m. Shaw allegedly pointed the gun at tenants and ordered them out. The incident happened after more than 15 long-term tenants were evicted from the motel.
Motel staff could not be reached for comment on Friday.
More than a dozen other tenants left on Thursday after the motel’s management threatened to lock them out and shut off power and water. Many were awaiting longer-term housing but lost jobs after the pandemic forced the closure of many businesses. With little money, some said they’ll be sleeping in vehicles or on the street.
Danielle Seymour is one of the few still locked in her room at the motel.
“It’s been a nightmare,” she said Friday afternoon. “I’m all cried out.”
Seymour had been working three food service jobs when the pandemic hit New Orleans last month. All three jobs – serving snacks at the Smoothie King Center, waiting tables on Bourbon Street, and helping run a cafeteria at Tulane University – evaporated in a matter of days.
With little in savings and still awaiting an inspection on a rental home, “my money ran out, and I had no place to go,” she said.
She and other tenants were told to pay up or get out on Monday. When the motel hired a security guard shortly after, Seymour knew “things were going to get ugly.”
Seymour obtained a restraining order halting her eviction, but the motel manager brushed it aside.
“They said it didn’t apply to them,” said Alexis Erkert, an attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. The motel’s reaction to the order surprised Erkert, but now it’s becoming a trend.
“Usually you get a restraining order, serve it to the landlord and that’s enough,” she said. “But we’re having cases where it’s not enough.”
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services has been called to assist in alleged wrongful lockouts or evictions at at least three other motels or hotels that serve long-term tenants in New Orleans, Slidell and Jefferson Parish.
After Seymour’s restraining order, the motel changed its justification for the evictions. Erkert said the motel indicated the evictions were necessary to spray for roaches. At another point, managers told Erkert the motel needed to be cleared out to curb the spread of coronavirus.
“We have a state ‘stay at home’ order,” Erkert said. “We’re supposed to stay off the streets. There is literally no place to go.”
On Thursday, nearly all tenants were ordered to leave. Most had complied by the afternoon, but Seymour and a few others remained. Seymour could hear the tumult when Shaw and Mackay forced their way into the room of another tenant who had refused to leave.
“I heard them holler ‘They got a gun!’” Seymour said. “It was a distressed holler, so I called 911.”
Police said the bolt which had been cut off the room’s door was on the ground when an officer arrived. They said a witness corroborated the tenant’s account, so the officer arrested both Shaw and Mackay on counts of aggravated burglary.
Orleans Parish Magistrate Court Commissioner Brigid Collins found no probable cause for the arrests. Assistant district attorneys did not argue for Collins to find probable cause for another violation.
Aggravated burglary, which in Louisiana can carry up to 30 years in prison, is often faced by people accused of breaking into a business or dwelling that they don’t have the owner’s permission to be in.
Seymour spent Friday looking out her window, waiting for more aggressive attempts to get her out. She said a relative may give her a car that she can sleep in for the weekend.
“It’s stressful,” she said. “So many emotions, you know? Who kicks people out during a pandemic? They don’t care about our health; just about getting money.”
