After surviving a tornado unscathed, soldier has $14K in belongings thrown out by apartment complex

By Jeremy Finley

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    CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — Roy Wilson knows how lucky he was.

Though the Fort Campbell soldier’s complex had siding ripped off and windows blown out on December 9, his apartment wasn’t touched.

Everything he owned was safe with no damage, and he says he was told by his complex, Wynwood Apartments, that he could store his belongings there while it underwent repairs.

When the complex told all tenants they had to move out during reconstruction, Wilson signed a new short-term lease with a complex right across the street, also owned by Wynwood.

But three months later, all his and his wife’s belongings at Wynwood are gone, including his wife’s wedding dress, some military uniforms and the flag he was given at his grandfather’s funeral.

All of it was thrown out by the apartment complex while he was out of state training.

“I had my grandpa’s urn in my bedroom,” Wilson told WSMV4 Investigates. “All that stuff is gone, and I’ll never get that back.”

In a blistering letter from a Fort Campbell attorney David Riddick to Wynwood Apartments, the complex is directed to pay Wilson $14,350.

The letter reads in part, “There was no legal justification for throwing out PFC Wilson’s and Myka Grayson’s personal property. They did not abandon the property nor did your company obtain a judgment for possession of the property. The tornado and unique circumstances do not provide an excuse for your company’s unlawful behavior and actions.”

An attorney for Wynwood responded by email, writing that the complex had given Wilson ample time to collect his belongings.

“When more than thirty days elapsed following your client’s vacating the premises the remaining items became considered abandoned and were therefore disposed of by the landlord. As such Wynwood denies any liability in this matter,” wrote Jacob Mathis, attorney for Wynwood Apartments.

Both Wilson and Wynwood tell conflicting accounts of conversations about the soldier’s belongings.

Wilson said he checked daily on his belongings at Wynwood before leaving for joint readiness training at Fort Johnson, Louisiana.

Wilson said while at the training, he received calls from Wynwood, alerting him to the fact that his belongings remained in the apartment.

“They called me, they said, we noticed you still have stuff in the house,” Wilson said. “I said, you can touch it, you can move it around, but not to throw it away.”

“You were very clear not to throw it away?” asked WSMV4 Investigates.

“I was very clear. They called me twice about it,” Wilson said.

When Wilson returned on Feb. 2, he found the front door lock had been changed and went around to the back to see that the apartment was cleaned out.

“Everything was cleaned out. The house was spotless. It looked like no one had ever lived there before,” Wilson said.

According to Mathis’s email to Wilson’s attorney, “All displaced tenants were given ample time and opportunity to retrieve their personal belongings left behind at Wynwood. As I understand it many of your client’s items were moved but some were left behind and they never returned to retrieve them.”

In an email to WSMV4 Investigates, Mathis wrote, “The complex actually ended up keeping their items longer than required under the law.

WSMV4 Investigates consulted with an attorney who specializes in Tennessee housing laws, and she said the soldier’s situation is not specifically addressed in state tenant rights.

State law does have specific language for cases when someone has abandoned rental property and has not paid rent, but it is unclear if the cases could be applied to Wilson.

Wilson argues that the complex knew he had not abandoned the property or his belongings and was living at another apartment also owned by Wynwood.

Wilson said he would like to sue.

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