Homeowner in New York tied up and took tenants to the cemetery: all because of the moratorium on eviction

Albany, New York homeowner arrested and charged with kidnapping. According to police, he allegedly tied two tenants of his apartment with ties and duct tape, put pillowcases on their heads and drove them at gunpoint to a cemetery in Columbia County. There he threw them in the cold in the snow. The incident took place on the night of February 21, writes Times union.

Homeowner Sean Douglas, 48, was allegedly armed with a firearm throughout the incident. According to police, two other suspects could have helped him, but so far no one has been arrested except Douglas.

The incident began in the Grandview Terrace apartment building, where Douglas lived and two tenants of his apartment - a 21-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man (their names were not released).

According to police records, this is far from Douglas' first arrest. He had previously been detained on charges that included assault and violation of a protective order.

Law enforcement sources said that the cause of the conflict was a moratorium on evictions due to COVID-19 - Douglas wanted to evict tenants, but had no right to do so. Both residents were asleep at the time of the attack. The 32-year-old claims to have been punched and kicked by Douglas and two other people. And then the tenants were tied up. At the same time, police reports on the incident do not contain any details about the other suspects, but the victims say there were three attackers.

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Bound tenants with pillowcases on their heads were loaded into a Dodge Durango and driven to a motel, and from there to an isolated cemetery in Ghent, a small village in Columbia County, about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Albany.

Douglas left them tied up in a snowy cemetery and left. The woman was able to free herself and went to the nearest house to call for help.

The police report said that by leaving people tied up in the cold, Douglas "put the victims at risk of serious injury."

He was arrested the next day (February 22) and charged with second-degree kidnapping.

We will remind that in New York for almost a year there has been a moratorium on the eviction of tenants, even if they do not pay for the service. This is done to protect people in the difficult economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A tough version of the moratorium, when a person is almost impossible to evict, is valid until February 25. After that, until May 1, a milder moratorium ensues, which protects from eviction only those who filled out a special declaration and proved that they are not able to pay rent.