Landlord Accused Of Hate Crime After Former Tenant Moves Out Of Apartment Upon Learning Unit Was In Foreclosure

In Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, WPTV-TV Channel 5 reports:

• Palm Beach Gardens Police have arrested 32-year-old Anthony Schell on charges of stalking, criminal use of public record information and criminal mischief. In addition, there's sufficient evidence, say investigators, to show Schell "evidenced prejudice" while committing the crimes, to label them “hate crimes” based on the victim's religion.

***

• The victim, Jodi Kahn, had discovered and reported that someone had spray painted an obscene message [on her front door] making reference to her Jewish religion. [...] Kahn believed that her former landlord, Schell, was responsible because the two were in the middle of a civil dispute.

• Kahn, say police, had stopped paying rent and moved out of the apartment she was renting from Schell in the same complex after she'd learned the unit was in foreclosure. When initially interviewed, detectives say Schell denied any knowledge of the incidents, but did admit to the ongoing problems with Kahn regarding her lease.(1)

For more, see Hate-crime arrest made in PB Gardens case.

(1) The story goes on to report the police version of what followed that led up to the arrest of Schell:

Investigators say Kahn also described other events that had occurred, including the distribution to Kahn’s parents, neighbors, landlord, employer and others - material that painted her in a poor light. Kahn also reported that on November 11, 2009, her Mezuzah, an exterior door ornament used by some people of the Jewish faith, was removed, broken and the pieces were left in front of her apartment door. Then, on November 17, 2009, she reported a swastika was written with black marker on her front door.

During the investigation, detectives say they learned that an unknown person was passing out flyers with derogatory information about the Kahn and was doing so around the victim’s place of employment. They determined the person who admitted to handing out the flyers had also spray painted the words on Kahn’s door, and told police he did so at the request of Schell, who was his employer. Police say that person also told them Schell had driven him to the victim’s apartment and wrote on a piece of paper what to paint on the door, telling him that he was playing a joke on someone. Schell’s employee, say investigators, is a recent immigrant who does not read English well and so they believe he may not have understood the meaning of the words. The employee said he did what Schell asked because he was afraid of losing his job if he did not.