In court Monday, Shantel McClendon, a mother of five facing expulsion from Valencia Gardens by the John Stewart Company, testified that repeated eviction notices and lawsuits sent her way may be a hardball tactic to keep the father of three of her kids, Rasheed Loveless, away from the premises.
“You said, ‘Maybe if he goes away, this all goes away,’” McClendon testified, referring to Valencia Gardens’ property management. Management has served McClendon with seven 14-day eviction notices and three eviction lawsuits since late 2017.
The trial, which started Thursday, stems from The John Stewart Company’s allegation that Loveless was staying overnight at McClendon’s apartment for more than 14 days without being on the lease, a violation of the complex’s rules. Judge Richard Ulmer may make a decision Tuesday or later in the week whether McClendon can stay in her home. Or he may decide to send the case to a jury trial.
The conversation McClendon testified about took place during a meeting regarding Loveless’s application last summer to become a live-in aide to help McClendon. Management advised Loveless to apply to be a live-in aide, but then denied his application citing publicly subsidized housing regulations that people cannot be aides to family members they have an obligation to financially support. Management said it did not know about this rule at the time it advised Loveless to apply.
While no court has ordered Loveless to pay child support, Carlos Uribe, Valencia Gardens’ property manager, said that in California Loveless still has an obligation to support McClendon and their children, which would render him ineligible to be an aide. McClendon’s mother applied last week to be a live-in aide for her.
The other reason Uribe gave for denying Loveless’ application last September were pending criminal charges against Loveless, which Uribe said management only discovered as part of the live-in aide application process.
“When he gave us authorization to run the criminal background check, that’s when we learned,” Uribe testified Monday.
Loveless later pleaded no contest to a drug charge for which he is currently serving a two-year sentence in state prison. Uribe said the first he heard of Loveless’ incarceration was McClendon’s testimony last Thursday.
The day after management denied Loveless’s live-in aide application, it filed a lawsuit to evict McClendon, which was later dismissed. The current case is the third eviction lawsuit The John Stewart Company has filed against McClendon since last February. It alleges Loveless engaged in illegal gambling and other unidentified criminal activity on the premises, which Uribe said he heard about through a report from his security staff that San Francisco police were looking for Loveless at the unit.
As Mission Local previously reported, several neighbors said they had not noticed criminal or disruptive activity at the apartment. “It’s pretty much just kids playing outside there,” said Teakeysha Brittany, who lives across the street, last Friday.
McClendon’s trial will continue Tuesday.
Sign a petition, and send it to the governors office. I got an eviction law suit an they “The John Stewart Company” were in the wrong. They illegally had my car towed. I had a permit issued by property management which they say was fraudulent, then they said it was no permit, then not a valid permit. My tags were expired BUT, I had proof it was paid all $964 of it, jus waiting for the smog. My car should’ve never been touched PERIOD the warning sticker on my car said if not moved your car will be towed on day 2. They towed it 3½ hrs after the sticker was put on my car. CA law requires 96hr must pass b4 a vehicle is towed from private property like my car was. ILLEGAL TOW!!;! Now that Im Pushing The Issue for property management to pay for my cars release, i get a 3day eviction and a evict law suit wich they are lying an making up things to evict me. Im so fed up with this bs from JSC. Im even dealing with a similar situation with my girlfriend as the story in this website to top it off … pile it all on jus kick me wen im down!! Somebody please help me 🙏
I would like to know whos the attorney for this women i need him on my side
The part they failed to mention is that McClendon provided a lease , rent lieder along with utility bills showing that Loveless had his own residence. This is very disturbing to see that John Stewart is buying all of the low income properties and evicting low income families legally. The frustrating part is that their continuing to allow him (John Stewart) to do this. The mayors office of housing portray that they want to get people off the streets and into their own homes, or people in homes to remain housed but in reality that’s not the case at all. They sit back and pretend to not see that this John Stewart has put hundreds of low income families “babies “ out on the streets legally now these mothers have an evictions on their name with little to no hope of getting a new residence.My question is “WHY” because of FUNDING. It’s wrong heartless and has to stop. PERIOD!!!……
Please tell anyone you know who is dealing with John Stewart Management Company to contact the author of this article, Eric Murphy. I too have experienced BS from John Stewart Management Company’s personnel and it’s criminal.
At first I thought, Why not let the father live there? But I guess there’s complications from the past, and not enough information as to what kind of person he really is now. It seems that there’s so many hurdles to jump for those living in section 8 housing.
And it’s really strange to be looking into people’s very private information.
It sounds like this mother is a really sweet person and just couldn’t deny her baby’s father a place to stay even though she had specific rules laid out for her prior to residing at her place that prohibit someone for staying with her for too long. I have a Section 8 voucher and I don’t let anyone that I knew from my past life style know where I’m at or come into my house because they all sound like this person that became her baby’s father :-). It is really hard to help a mother who is so sweet with so many kids when she won’t follow the rules.