Slavin’s body found inside home by agents there to secure property

A hearing was scheduled today at 1:30 p.m. before Circuit Judge Lee Smith in the matter of an ongoing lawsuit of Homestead Foreclosure against local environmental and government activist Ed Slavin. However, as has happened repeatedly on previous occasions since the lawsuit was filed on February 22, 2018, the note remains unpaid and the mortgage remains un-foreclosed.

For those Historic City News readers who follow the home loan business, this is a note and mortgage that was registered by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for ARVIDA Mortgage Services, Inc.  In February 2008, in the middle of the housing bubble, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems assigned the mortgage documents to Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., who assigned the mortgage documents to Bank of America, N.A. on April 29, 2013.

During a scandal that rocked the home loan industry, FannieMae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, wound up with the mortgage on April 13, 2015.  And now, the current holder of the mortgage, U.S. Bank Trust, NA, cannot produce the original loan documents; telling the court that the bank has been working from copies because the originals were inadvertently lost and were presumed to be destroyed on or before August 10, 2016.

The purchase money note was solely signed by Slavin’s friend David Bryan Wallace.  Slavin was an additional signer on the mortgage only. In January, Wallace, who was married, died in Pompano Beach according to his death certificate.  However, Slavin, who is not married, was living in the home all this time according to court records.  On Saturday, August 1, 2020, it looked like another tragedy was to befall the saga of this house.

At about 4:00 p.m. on August 1st, St Augustine Police Officer Steven Fischer was called to a supposedly vacant house located at 19 Casanova Road in Madeira Heights regarding a dead body discovered by two field service agents who had been sent to change the locks and prepare the residence for long term vacancy.

Upon his arrival, Officer Fischer found that St Johns County Fire Rescue was already on the scene.  Fischer contacted and identified two men and a woman who are said to be employed by Joy’s Property Management in Jacksonville.  One of the men, Paul George, informed Fischer that he is the person who called the police.

According to the bank, no one has made the mortgage payments due on the note.  After learning of Wallace’s death, an inspector from the bank discovered the house in advanced stages of disrepair.  George told police that he had been sent to the address to make entry into and to secure the premises.

George and his brother Michael have secured other houses where an owner has died but they were not prepared for what they were about to find.  George reported that in a room in the upper part of the building, he found “an elderly white male lying face down“.  The police report says that George called out to the man but got no response.  Believing that he had found a dead body, George called 911. George told Fischer that he did not touch the body “due to the smell”.

St Johns County Fire Rescue arrived and went to check the body for possible signs of life.  When one of the emergency medical personnel grabbed Slavin’s ankle to check for postmortem lividity, Slavin was said to have screamed and jumped up.  According to the incident report, Slavin was irate and wanted the CEO of the bank to be charged with criminal trespass. The CEO of the bank was not at the scene.

• George was able to produce a copy and showed the work order he received from Joy’s Property Management company instructing him to perform the work.  The originator of the order was field services contractor, “First Allegiance“.

• George was on the phone talking about the incident to Joy Wilder in his office.  Officer Fischer was unable to speak with Wilder at that time because Slavin was “being disruptive”.  Fischer did check to see if he could see any signs of a posting on the front door indicating that Slavin had been evicted.  He did not find anything.  Fischer did a check at the St. Johns County Property Appraisers website to see who was listed as the owner of 19 Casanova Road. The information was blocked.

The following day, Officer Fischer received an email request from Slavin to have the following added to the incident report.  “Chief Fox, would you please ask the investigator(s) to kindly note in a supplemental report that: (a) a cellular telephone charger is missing, and (b) a can of WD-40 was left behind in its place.”

“Dear (Police) Chief Fox and (Fire) Chief Aviles: Would you please be so kind as to send me the documents on the August 1, 2020 corporate-ordered burglary of my home, involving SAPD and SAFD responses to telephone call(s) by corporate-hired burglars?” Slavin requested in another e-mail on August 3rd.  “Please include: transcript of 911, police and fire rescue calls, detective contacts with bank, or management company personnel, who allegedly ordered burglary and theft, consultation with the State’s Attorney’s office, and, any research on similar corporate crimes and occurrences.”

On August 10th, SAPD Sergeant Jon Marston requested documents from First Allegiance.  He reported that Property Service Specialist Lisa Strydio provided a copy of the work order including pictures that were taken the day of the incident.  Sergeant Marston concludes that, at this time, the ongoing civil matter between the bank, the field service company and Slavin require no further action to be taken by the St. Augustine Police Department.

Historic City News will continue to monitor the situation.