Tenant-landlord dispute gets vicious in Fort Lauderdale

Tenant believes machete attack accusation is part of plot to get him out

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ Last week,Ā Jimmie Leeks said strangers threatened him. He said they told him they wanted him to leave the efficiency he has beenĀ renting from Maurice BlancharĀ in Fort Lauderdale.Ā 

LeeksĀ said he called police officers to report the threats. He has a case number. Days later, he was home whenĀ Fort Lauderdale Police Department officersĀ came knocking.

"I get on the ground. They handcuff me," Leeks, 48, said.Ā "They sit me down."

Leeks said the officers questioned him. His 89-year-old landlord told the officers Leeks pulled outĀ aĀ machete andĀ "started slicing" him with it, whileĀ he used his cane to defend himself. Leeks said he had never seen theĀ machete before and he never laid a hand on Blanchar.Ā  Ā 

While Leeks was released from prison in 2013 and has a criminal historyĀ that includesĀ cocaine possession in 1989 and eluding police in 2010, Broward County court records show BlancharĀ has had a series of removal-of-tenant disputes from 1991 to 2011.

BlancharĀ filed lawsuits against Garrett Smith, John Curtis Ingle, Jaime Soto, Laura Carvalho and Samuel Porro.Ā Leeks said Blanchar is now accusing him of a crime he did not commit.

Blanchar, who says he is a World War II veteran,Ā was not hospitalized for his injuries. He hadĀ a jacket with a bloody stain as evidence ofĀ the attack, but police officers did not take itĀ as evidence.Ā 

"He didnā€™t even have stitches nowhere," Leeks said

Blanchar told officers that Leeks owed him money, and he asked Leeks to pay up before the attack. He also said he felt weak and officers took his cane as evidence, andĀ he was having difficulty walking without one.Ā 

"Iā€™ve been through so many things in my life.Ā One would think enough is enough,ā€ Blanchar said on Thursday.

Leeks ā€” who still hadĀ the keys to the efficiency unit inĀ Blancharā€™s property on Friday afternoon ā€” said the alleged machete attack never happened, but officers didn't believe him.Ā Broward County prosecutors charged him with aggravated assault.Ā Ā 

When police officers arrested him on Wednesday, Leeks said he noticed it looked like the macheteĀ was brand new. He now hopes that detectives will be able to see thatĀ his report about the strangers who intimidated him last week and Blanchar'sĀ accusations are connected.Ā 

No one answered at Blancharā€™s home on Friday evening.Ā 


About the Authors

Janine Stanwood joined Local 10 News in February 2004 as an assignment editor. She is now a general assignment reporter. Before moving to South Florida from her Washington home, Janine was the senior legislative correspondent for a United States senator on Capitol Hill.

Sanela Sabovic joined Local 10 News in September 2012 as an assignment editor and associate producer.Ā In August 2015, she became a full-time reporter and fill-in traffic reporter. Sanela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a concentration in radio, television and film from DePaul University.

Recommended Videos