Fresh from having criminal charges against him dropped, Donald Weeks was back in Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday in an effort to avoid being evicted from his Fruitvale district abbey.
The retired couple who owns the property wants Weeks and his St. Patrick Abbey booted on the grounds the cleric violated their trust and the law by using the commercial site as a dorm for parolees and recovering drug addicts.
Weeks also owes $50,710 in back rent to the owners, Gary and Mary Martin of Hawaii, according to their Oakland lawyer, Clinton Killian.
Judge Steven Brick presided over a hearing at which Weeks' attorney, Steve Collier, argued the eviction notice had a legal flaw and should be nullified. Eviction paperwork can demand unpaid rent dating back no more than a year, but the figure in the notice served to Weeks includes missed payments dating back to 2001, Collier said.
Brick gave the lawyers until 2 p.m. today to submit written briefs citing legal points of authority to back their arguments. If Brick rejects Collier's request to terminate the proceedings with a "summary judgment," a trial is to begin Friday.
"One way or another, (Weeks) will be removed from the property in a lawful manner," Killian vowed after stepping from Brick's courtroom. "He has used up all his goodwill with the owners. The Martins showed him compassion, and he defrauded them."
If Brick blocks the eviction on the technicality, Killian intends to renew the process and initiate a separate civil lawsuit against Weeks for the unpaid rent.
"This is just a delay," Killian said. "Weeks will have his day in court, and he will have to come forward with more than just promises."
As Weeks fell behind in the $3,000 monthly rent, he assured the Martins he would paythem with money he expects from grants, insurance settlements or public funds, Killian said.
The Martins gave Weeks permission to run church programs on the condition the cleric obtain proper city permits, according to Killian. Using the commercial building as a residential facility is illegal, said Killian, who accused Weeks of packing parolees in "like sardines in a can."
Weeks has explained he gave "clean and sober" housing in exchange for monthly stipends of $320 per resident. The abbey received widespread publicity last month after it provided refuge for paroled sexual predator Cary Verse. Neighborhood pressure, spearheaded by City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, drove Verse out of the abbey, to San Jose.
But the abbey was cited for municipal code violations, and police received a tip that Weeks once spoke of a liaison with a teenage boy at his 73rd Avenue abbey about 10 years ago. The 60-year-old cleric told The Oakland Tribune on Wednesday that the young man performed oral sex for him on repeated occasions, but was past his 18th birthday when he did so.
"Yes, I've had relationships with women, and, yes, I've had relationships with men," Weeks said. "Now that I'm a monk, I don't have sex with anybody. And, I thank God I am a sexual person."
Weeks identifies himself as head of the Old Catholic Church, an order that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church more than a century ago.
Oakland police arrested Weeks on suspicion of having sex with a minor. The case was dismissed Tuesday at the request of Deputy District Attorney Tim Wellman after a check revealed the teenager would have reached adulthood by the time Weeks moved to 73rd Avenue in 1996.
Weeks intends to visit city offices today to get paperwork for a complaint against Oakland and its police department. Weeks wants state Attorney General Bill Lockyer to send a representative to oversee the claim because he is convinced Oakland officials are biased against him. He points to the fact that De La Fuente led a campaign that forced Verse out of the abbey in three days and shut down the church. Weeks referred to De La Fuente as a "liar and a thug."
"I don't think I can get anybody fair to be on my side in Oakland right now," Weeks said, suggesting perhaps Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates should mediate his complaint. "Ignacio De La Fuente has too much influence."
De La Fuente is among critics who accuse Weeks of having a history of taking taxpayer money for housing parolees, then defaulting on rents. Weeks counters that he is being falsely portrayed as a "con man," and that legitimate business factors were at issue in his disputes with landlords.
"They say there is a pattern; there is no pattern. ... I didn't stiff everybody," Weeks said. "There is a logical explanation for what happened, and that is what nobody wants to understand."
The cleric conceded that his religion mandates he absolve the council president and the police department the same way he did Verse.
"The Bible says my job is to forgive and forget, but that doesn't mean I don't expect something," Weeks said. "There is repentance before you can be forgiven. I expect them to say they are sorry, and a couple hundred thousand dollars to pay for the damages caused me."
Oakland attorney John Burris will pursue a civil suit if the city balks at paying up, according to Weeks.