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St. Paul video: Armed man urging residents of condemned apartments to leave
[July 05, 2012]

St. Paul video: Armed man urging residents of condemned apartments to leave


Jul 05, 2012 (Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The St. Paul City Council ruled this week that the few remaining households at the Westminster Court apartments have until Monday, July 9, to find new places to live or they could face police action.



The two condemned 60-unit buildings at Westminster Street and Maryland Avenue have been rife with building and fire code violations and are frequently the scene of police calls.

The remaining residents, however, say they need more time, and property management company Equimax Real Estate has been heavy-handed in getting them to leave. They told the council on Tuesday, July 3, that a property manager has been opening their doors without knocking, tapping a pistol tucked into his pants, and strongly encouraging them to accept $150, June rent and their damage deposits to relocate. Antonia Alvarez, a housing advocate with the Asamblea de Derechos Civiles (Assembly of Civil Rights), recently approached the property manager and a St. Paul police officer stationed outside the Westminster Court buildings to ask about the gun. In a video she took of the conversation, the police officer tells her it is lawful for the manager to have the weapon.


In the video, Alvarez asks a St. Paul police officer stationed outside the property why the manager is allowed to carry the weapon, and the officer explains he has a permit.

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