Landlord Bulldozed Tenants out of Home

A landlord in Idaho has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offence of disturbing the peace after apparently attempting to bulldoze his unwanted tenants out of his home by driving his tractor straight into it.

Paul Fagerlie Finman, 56,  claimed that the tenant family living in his Bonner County home were anti-government extremists who had threatened to kill him when he ordered them out, according to a report in AOL News. For their part, the tenants say that they refused to leave after Mr. Finman become uncooperative when they tried to negotiate a new rent on the home.

Finman told police that he gave the family a notice to vacate his property on a certain date, and that having failed to do so, he instead decided to drive his tractor into the home as a means of forcing them out.

At the time the tractor came tearing through the home, renter Alexander Duncan Campbell was not home but his wife and children were. They allege that Finman continued to pursue them on the tractor even after they had fled. No one was injured.

Finman, who had recently acquired the property prior to the incident, reportedly had intentions to bulldoze the property and that’s why he wanted the tenants to leave.

"He decided that driving the tractor through the house was a quicker process," Shane Greenbank, Bonner County chief deputy prosecutor, told AOL News.

In another twist to the case, Campbell, the renter, is allegedly wanted on charges of illegal possession of a concealed weapon, and the family’s whereabouts are unknown.

Finman was originally charged with three counts of aggravated assault following the incident. With the family missing to testify against Finman, the prosecution agreed to a settlement, reducing the charges against to Finman to one count of a misdemeanor.