Story contributed by Carl Owen

The Owen Gang Rides Again

My son Kyle has the uncanny ability to attract deadbeats and losers. He owns a duplex and lives in one side and rents out the other. He has owned this duplex for several years and has never made a profit from renting it out. As a matter of fact, he has lost several thousand dollars in unpaid rent, damages and repairs.

First, he had a deadbeat renter in one side when he bought the place and couldn’t get him to pay rent or move. So, the Owen Gang rode into town with a Makita drill and drilled the locks off the doors and installed new locks. Then we called the Rent-a-Center and told them to come pick up the rented furniture that the deadbeat had not paid the rental fees for. We boxed up his miscellaneous junk and set it outside for said deadbeat to haul off.

The deadbeat and Mrs. Deadbeat found their key would not work and called the cops. The cops showed up and questioned the gang leader, the guy with the Makita drill. The gang leader admitted the deed and was informed by a Sheriff’s Deputy that what he had done was illegal and that we could go to jail. The gang leader informed the Sheriff’s Deputy that he should advise Mr. And Mrs. Deadbeat so they could sue the Owen gang if they wanted. Since it costs money and deadbeats don’t have money to sue, we were not sued.

Instead, the deadbeat stood on the sidewalk about 50 yards up the street and yelled down insults and threats. He yelled out that he was going to kick my son’s ass. I invited him down to first kick my ass. He declined.

So, Kyle and I cleaned up the duplex and Kyle rented it out for a short period to his friend Ted. Ted paid rent so he was not a deadbeat, but after Ted, came the ex-girl friend who enjoyed a reduced rent and had a big dog who preferred going to the bathroom on Kyle’s carpet. The place became a mess.

The gang leader cleaned up the Makita drill but the ex-girlfriend moved out and in with another bum, her on again off again friend. But the girlfriend recommended the latest deadbeat to Kyle as a really nice guy who would be glad to pull carpet, refinish floors, renovate the bathroom and so forth for a couple of months rent. Kyle agreed and let the deadbeat move in with an agreement for 2 ½ months free rent and a reduced rent of $500.00 for six months. The deadbeat thanked Kyle profusely, moved in and did almost nothing for 3 months and paid no rent. Kyle and I took him a lease to sign which he refused to sign. He also refused to pay any rent.

So, the gang leader started the lengthy eviction process by initially serving the deadbeat with a 3 day notice to pay rent or vacate. When he did not move, he was served with an eviction summons and a complaint which was filed in Superior Court. Then he was served with a requirement to pay rent into the court fund or provide a sworn statement explaining why he was not paying rent. Finally, he was served with a summons to show up at a Show Cause Hearing in Superior Court to give good reason why he was occupying a rental unit without paying rent.

He showed up in court and stated that Kyle had agreed that he could stay and pay no rent for as long as he wanted to stay. The Judge did not by it and signed a Writ of Restitution and a money judgment against the deadbeat for $1490.00. Kyle then paid the Sheriff $120.00 to throw the bum out after three days. On the last day, the deadbeat and a friend of his started moving his junk out of Kyle’s duplex. I followed them to find out where they were moving to so we could take action to collect on the judgment.

They split up and sped through school zones and through stop signs and lost me several times. Finally, Kyle showed up after work and he took one of the vehicles and I took the other. Kyle lost his target but this time I was determined to stay with the deadbeat. I stuck with him until he pulled into a shopping center parking lot. A few minutes later, the other truck showed up and they started yelling at me. I stood by my car with a 4 pound spring in my hand and invited them over to talk it over. They declined. I then called Kyle who showed up to make it two against two.

They called the cops and a city cop showed up and talked with the deadbeats. Then he came over to talk to Kyle and me. He told us we were breaking the law by stalking the deadbeats and could go to jail. He said he would not write a police report but just hold us there until the deadbeats could take off. I had some rather strong words with the cop about protecting deadbeats instead of law abiding citizens. The cop asked Kyle if he was having his dad follow the deadbeats. Kyle said, are you kidding, I can’t have my Dad do anything, he does what he wants to do. I forced the cop into writing up a police report and he informed us it would go to the prosecutor who could have us put in jail. I said fine but at least the police report will show the address of the deadbeat and that’s all we want. Haven’t heard from the prosecutor yet.

I looked around the deadbeats meeting place and saw three storage facilities across the street. My favorite daughter Margaret used to work at one of the sites. The next day I visited the storage sites one at a time.

I introduced myself as a friend of the deadbeat and explained that I was there to pay one month’s storage for him. They looked at their rentals and the first one said he wasn’t renting there. On the third one, I hit pay dirt. I went through my spiel and the manager said the monthly storage for the deadbeat was $174.00. I said I didn’t realize that it would be so much and asked if it was a 10x30. She told me it was a 10x20 unit number 2153. I thanked her and left.

I showed up with a bouquet of flowers the next day and asked the manager if she could help me find the deadbeat. She wrote down the address for me and stated that no one had ever given her flowers before. I sweet talked her a bit and left to drive by the address which happened to be a rental that the deadbeat’s sister was renting.

So, then I was ready to go back to Idaho so I called Miz Vonda to come over and help me by driving my car down to Idaho. She showed up and I picked her up at the airport. When we got home, she went straight into the kitchen and fried up two big fryers. It had been years since Kyle and I had enjoyed her famous chicken.

Before we left for Idaho, we stopped by Kyle’s duplex to get my tools. The neighbor called the cops and reported we were burglars. In no time we were surrounded by two city cop cars and in a few minutes later two sheriff cars. I cussed them all out and showed them that I had the key to Kyle’s duplex.

Later that night we set out for Idaho with me driving my moving van and Miz Vonda following in my Honda Accord. We drove and drove and drove and finally made it to Idaho. Miz Vonda stayed overnight and flew back to Montana. I didn’t have much time to spend with her but appreciated her help so very much. She said she would come back and help me with some building projects and I will get her famous chicken again. I intend to make her my famous BBQ.

So the Owen Gang is alive and well and ready to go to battle again if necessary but I hope Kyle sells the duplex and gets out of the rental business. After all, we are surrounded by deadbeats and the cops and rental laws are on their side.