Ellicott City woman blasts apartment complex, Howard County Sheriff's Office for wrongful eviction
HOWARD COUNTY --- An Ellicott City woman says she is a victim of a wrongful eviction by the Howard County Sheriff's Office and her apartment complex.
It all began with a phone call from her apartment's property manager in June.
"She said that the sheriff's deputies were conducting evictions on the property today and they accidentally evicted my property," said Garcia.
Halfway through the eviction sheriff deputies realized it was the wrong apartment after they placed all of her belongings outside in the parking lot.
Garcia posted this video on social media which includes deputies' body camera footage of the day they walked into her apartment at The Wexley at 100.
"I want to share a distressing experience that has turned my life upside down," Rebeca Garcia said in the video she posted on social media.
The footage shows the moment deputies realized they had the wrong apartment number after they had already damaged and thrown out her belongings.
You can hear voices in the video footage urging everyone to bring everything back inside.
At a few weeks pregnant with her third child, Garcia walked inside and saw her home in shambles.
Photos of the aftermath show Garcia's four and six-year-old bunk beds in pieces, missing jewelry, and frozen meat leaking on gifts for her child due in January 2025.
The life her family built was left in trash bags.
"We had nothing that day when I was here," explained Garcia. "[It] kind of left me with a mess knowing my kids live here. I have been here for three years. Just worked, paid my rent on time, and never gave anyone any issues. I don't really understand."
Frustrated and left to clean up the mess alone, Garcia took action and found an attorney.
"All it would've taken was for someone to have double-checked before walking in," said Diana Khan, a Maryland attorney looking into Garcia's case.
Khan was not able to comment on the legality of the incident but did share they're working to make sure this does not happen again.
"But our goal is to really make sure that if mistakes are bound to happen, we are human, we need to hold those to a higher degree and a higher level to make sure they don't happen when it is preventive," said Khan.
WJZ reached out to The Wexley at 100 and received a phone call back from a spokesperson from their management company, Greystar, who said, "They want to make it right".
Garcia hopes that her story will reach others and that her family can rebuild the life they once had.
WJZ also reached out to the Howard County Sheriff's Office for comment on this incident in which they said "..at this time they cannot comment due to legal litigation."