The widow of a California banker allegedly killed by a squatter who had terrorized their family for months says that the Oakland Police Department ignored their pleas for help despite nearly two dozen calls to 911, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed last week.
Melina and Miles Armstead moved into their dream home with their blended family in October 2017 on 76th Avenue. Miles, 44, had four children, including his stepdaughter, and Melina soon became pregnant with their first child together.
But their fresh start quickly turned into a nightmare when the squatter next door, Jamal Thomas, "began a relentless campaign of terror and harassment against the family," the lawsuit alleges.
Thomas repeatedly broke into their home, threw stones and bricks through their windows and "severely injured" Melina, who was struck by broken glass when she was pregnant, according to the lawsuit.
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In less than six months, the family called police 23 times beginning in late 2019.
"When Oakland officers arrived, they complained they were understaffed, overworked and the family's pleas for help were not high priorities," wrote attorney Patrick Buelna in the federal complaint.
"The harassment and assaults grew more dangerous and was so dismal that the Armsteads literally boarded up their newly purchased home in an effort to protect themselves from Mr. Thomas," the suit alleges.
Miles, who was a wealth management banker at Fremont Bank, called police on Feb. 26, 2020, after Thomas threatened to burn down his home with his family inside, the complaint charges.
But when Oakland officer Alejandro Padilla arrived on the scene, he chastised them for "acting like 12-year-old girls," then told Thomas to take a walk down the street rather than arrest him, the filing says.
Days later, Miles obtained a restraining order against Thomas, barring contact with him or his family, but the harassment only escalated.
In March 2020, Thomas was arrested for an unrelated incident and released on the highest tier of pretrial supervision, which required him to check in weekly with an officer from the Alameda County Probation Department.
Despite Thomas failing to check in with probation for eight weeks, officers still failed to take him into custody, the complaint alleges.
The rattled family grew so desperate that they finally sold their house.
"Miles was literally cleaning up the front yard of the house he had sold in fear of Jamal Thomas when Thomas chased him down and shot him in front of it," the suit says.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Melina and Miles' estate seeks unspecified damages against Alameda County, the landlord of the home where Thomas was squatting, the city of Oakland, Padilla and others.
Melina first sued the city over her husband's slaying in 2021, but her lawyers amended the lawsuit last week to include a more complete narrative of the family's ordeal.
"I pray for my family, our children, and those who have lost loved ones to gun violence," Melina wrote on Facebook weeks after the murder next to a photo of her and Miles smiling. "I pray for restoration in Oakland. I pray for this man that took my husband's life – I pray he finds peace and I pray for God's mercy on his lost soul."
Representatives for Alameda County and the city of Oakland didn't immediately return a request for comment. Thomas' attorney couldn't immediately be identified. Court records show the murder case is still pending, and Thomas entered a not-guilty plea.
