EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — A mother and her daughter are calling for better protection for senior citizens following a terrifying situation where the mother said her home was vandalized twice.
“I’m a fighter. But I don’t want nobody to invade my privacy. That’s all I’m asking is to just leave me alone that’s all,” said East Cleveland Resident Patricia Moody.
Back in February, Moody said her home video caught the moments a person was seen carrying an object to throw at her window, which she said left her with two shattered windows that are now boarded up.
Moody even showed us the wooden log the suspect used to break the glass.
“This is fighting me so bad that every time I go to my kitchen to sit down, I say should I sit down at 4 o’clock. Should I sit down at 6 o’clock. What else is going to happen to me?” she asked.
Moody and her daughter, Jacquelyn Adams, said they filed a police report on Feb. 23.
But nearly a month after the first breaking and entering incident, Moody said the same person came back to her home.
This time, they damaged her wires and confronted her with scissors.
Now, both women said they want answers and justice.
“How are we going to address the safety for our seniors? We know things won’t be done overnight, but at the same time we still need action,” said Adams. “I still can’t get that out of my head. My mother screaming at the top of her lungs, they’re coming in, they’re coming.”
When News 5 spoke to East Cleveland Police Chief Kenneth Lundy over the phone on Thursday, he confirmed this is an isolated incident and said the suspect has mental health challenges.
“I don’t know what the solution is with all these people that walk around this city with those type of issues. But I’m saying that it is a real call to action,” said Adams.
“This is different. We have a different administration; we have different people with philosophies,” said East Cleveland City Council President Lateek Shabazz.
Shabazz said the city is working to hire more police officers, fix the streetlights and open the city’s recreation center to cut down on crime.
I asked him, "So, it’s safe to say you’re always fighting for senior citizens?"
“(He confirmed) and children; the people who have worked and paved the way, the senior citizens they need protection,” said Shabazz.
“Even though I see the city going down, I still feel there’s hope. Sometimes it has to go to the bottom before it rises back up," said Moody.
