Report of mysterious break-in on presidential library site
04:58 PM CST on Wednesday, January 10, 2007
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV
Also Online
• Residents refuse to move from presidential library site
Eviction, mystery and accusations are the latest events in the advance of the proposed Bush presidential library at SMU.
Today federal agents marched in this morning with eviction notices in hand.
The last two residents of the University Gardens condominiums got orders to leave this morning.
But not before a mysterious break-in last night.
Three days ago Gary Getton showed us some of his legal papers in his ongoing fight with SMU over eviction from the condo he rents.
Last night, he says his property was burglarized.
All that was stolen, he says, were his documents.
He's suspicious.
"We own a percentage of the condos and that's why we're staying and fighting pretty much," he said.
Today, Getton got a notice to evict the premises.
So did Gary Vodicka, who lives a few doors away and owns four of the condos at University Gardens.
Vodicka is suing SMU over the way it obtained the property.
Now, as the university tears down dwellings near the site, he points out that he owned his condos outright.
Although a court decision has allowed the evictions to continue, he feels he's had no say in a decision over his property.
"They've known for four or five years they've wanted to put the Bush library here. They knocked on my door and handed me this writ of possession saying they want possession of my home," he added.
Gary Vodicka has appealed his case.
But he points out that even if he wins his appeal, his condos will be the only building standing among a large field of rubble.
He says SMU has offered him $75 a square foot for his property and that isn't enough.
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