Can the Fort Worth woman living in subsidized housing be evicted for having a gun?
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth woman who shot and killed a 14-year-old would-be burglar says she’s being evicted because of the ordeal.
Fort Worth police are sending Aleah Wallace’s case to a grand jury to decide if there are any criminal charges, but the federally subsidized property she’s lived in has told her she has to go.
"The apartments called and told me that I was not supposed to have a gun at all, even though I kept calling them and telling them somebody was breaking in. They told me I could not have a gun, and I have 30 days to vacate," she told FOX 4 in a Thursday interview. "I feel like I'm back at square one. I was there for six years, and now I don't know what to do."
Wallace’s property management has told her she violated rules by having a gun and will face eviction.
Dallas attorney Mark Melton is the founder of the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center. He says Wallace’s eviction may not be so cut and dry.
"Historically there is no federal law regarding whether public housing facilities can prohibit or ban guns by the residents," he said. "It’s always been somewhat optional based on state law."
Melton says Texas legislators passed a law in 2019 that forbids landlords from prohibiting a resident in a leased unit from possessing a gun, specifically in their apartment.
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The man explained to Arlington police he was woken up by his teenage son, who told him he heard a strange voice inside the home.
"So when the landlord in this case says we're going to evict you simply because you possessed a weapon inside your apartment, that's illegal and an unenforceable contract term. They cannot evict her in Texas for that," he said. "You can contract to do a lot of different things, in Texas especially. However, the gun ban issue is obviously not going to fly here. There's also some Fifth Court of Appeals cases of late in fact that say that self-defense from an unprovoked attack is not, under any circumstances, a breach of a lease."
Wallace is worried about eviction after she was given a verbal notice.
"I have to try and find somewhere else for me and my daughters to go," she said.
Melton is not so sure eviction will stand up.
"This one — based on the facts that we know so far, which is not all of them — looks like a pretty clearcut case of an inability to evict on the facts here," he said.
It is the only apartment Wallace has lived in as an adult for six years. Her great concern is that an eviction would keep her from finding other housing for herself and four daughters.