Paula's Ponderings

Second break-in – Condo at Princesa in Mexico on Sept. 13th 2022

As I stated before, I was woefully unprepared for this breakup. I thought he had moved on. But no, he continued to harass me after the breakup —

• He would walk into my Chandler AZ home unannounced
• On Sept. 7th 2022  he broke into my Chandler home (Retaliation is Real - Home Invasion #1)
• Hundreds of calls and WhatsApp messages to “talk” it out
• and now this …

I believed Trash to be unhinged, delusional, unstable.

After the Sept. 7th break-in, my AZ attorney recommended strongly that I NOT return to the States. He stated that I would ONLY be safe after the eviction process was complete (The Eviction Process) and I had an Order of Protection in place (Order of Protection Was Upheld)

So, I took his advice, cancelled my travel plans, and became a shut-in in my MX condo starting Sept. 7th 2022. I knew that Trash was due back in Mexico at some point in time, I just didn’t know when. And given his past behavior, I had no idea what he would do when he showed up. Since I could no longer trust or predict Trash’s behavior/actions, I made the decision to hire a body guard to stay with me.

I interviewed 3 body guards and selected Cesar. Cesar is a big dude that is an amateur MMA fighter. I chose him because he was all about de-escalation, not violence. Trash had enough rage in him and I didn’t think more ego/rage is what was needed in this situation.

I shared the situation with Cesar — that I was scared of my ex. That he was unpredictable, erratic, and that anything could happen. He stayed in the guest room every night from Sept. 8th 2022 forward. He spoke english well enough that we were able to communicate. It was awkward at first, having a stranger stay in my condo while I was going through this traumatic life event — I was scared, devastated, and now in fear of my life. Cesar was very kind. We did our own thing for the most part (I cried in my room, he played games on his phone), we watched a few movies together (I put the movies on Spanish audio with english subtitles)… we were doing our best to figure out how to share a space during this awkward time. I paid him $50 for each night that he stayed with me.

The First Attack at 6:15pm

All was going well until Sept. 13th at 6:15pm. Cesar and I were watching a movie and all of a sudden Trash crashed through the door. Within seconds, Trash had disabled and removed the Schlage lock from the door. Both Cesar and I were shocked…. We were watching a movie one minute, and the very next moment TD is in the condo screaming at Cesar and I to get out of “his” condo.

What happened next is so surreal — I still cannot believe it happened. I’m still traumatized by the experience. Remembering it gives me PTSD — I have never felt this much fear. Those of you that know me know I speak of death like — “when it’s my time, it’s my time”.. .I seriously thought this was my time — I was sure that if TD got past Cesar that he would throw me off the balcony (Condo is on the 5th floor)…

Here is the recording of the initial break-in on YouTube.

So when Trash entered the condo and saw Cesar, he became enraged. He was beside himself that there was another man in the condo — he was screaming, swearing — in a full rage. He began pushing Cesar around trying to get Cesar to hit him. Cesar stood there, with his arms crossed against his body, blocking him from getting past the kitchen. I raced to the balcony and called the police as advised by my MX attorney. I called 911 emergency number FOUR times. I was shaking with fear — my heart was beating so fast. I reached out to my friends and MX attorney on WhatsApp begging for help. I felt so helpless…. there was a monster in my house and I couldn’t get the help I desperately needed. This is the most scared I have ever felt in my life. Here is the WhatsApp to my friend an MX attorney:

While I was on the balcony I could hear things escalating inside between TD and Cesar. I went inside and told Trash to get out of the condo. Over and over again, dozens of times, I stated, “get out of my condo, you are not welcome here”, “get out, I do not want to see you, we have NOTHING to talk about”. “GET OUT and leave me alone”. Trash was enraged — screaming and yelling — telling me that I can’t “steal his condo”; that he was going to have Cesar and myself “taken out by the Goana brothers”. Cesar refrained from responding to Trash’s words and physical assaults and was able to finally push him out of the condo, arms still folded across his chest, just moving Trash slowly towards the door until we could close it.

I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what just happened.

Trash finally left but took the door lock with him:

The condo community also had security, but from what I could see in the Ring doorbell recordings, they were just standing around — not asking him to leave, not escorting him away, nothing (another story for another time).

Trash Was Not Done – He Came Back at 7:15pm

I was shaking with fear. Cesar could see it, I’m sure he was also scared but he didn’t show it. He stood at the door for hours.. And thank god that he did, because Trash came back for a second round.

At 7:15pm that same night, Trash came back up to the condo (How Princesa security allowed this is a story for another time). Trash beat on the door, tried to push his way in again. He shouted obscenities to the both of us….luckily Cesar was able to hold the door closed. Here is the Ring Doorbell recording on YouTube of the second attempt to break-in and the WhatsApp communications with my friends and MX attorney during this time below:

Trash finally left on his own…. and at 7:45pm the police finally arrived to take a report (Puerto Penasco Police Report # 1995699).

This should never have happened. I had alerted the HOA of the issues and had warned them, on a daily basis, that I was in fear of Trash and that something bad was going to happen. When it did indeed happen, nothing was done about it (story for another time).

A couple of things stood out to me after the police left:

• There was food all over the floor — As it turns out, Trash had brought Thai food (my favorite) . This person cheated on me, actively deceived me, broke into my AZ Chandler home, had been stalking/harassing me for weeks. He knew I was not interested in anything he had to say, now or ever. Actions speak louder than words, his actions spoke volumes. So bringing Thai food and thinking we were going to sit down like old friends to “talk” is/was absolutely delusional.
• As women, we are never safe. Men protect men — Trash probably paid the Princesa security guys a few bucks and somehow they looked the other way. There is one guard who was helpful — Alvaro. He kept telling Trash that “she doesn’t want to talk to you, leave her alone”. I will be forever grateful for his help. He is my favorite security guard. He gets it.
• Trash is well known in the community. He owns a directTV install business in Mexico… He has access to the roof and other private spaces of houses and communities throughout town. I learned afterwards that during this incident, that sometime between 6:15 and 7:15pm, TD asked Security for the building roof key — he told them he wanted access to the roof so he climb onto my balcony and get into my condo through the patio door. Security did not give him a key. What kind of lunatic thinks like this? Which makes me think that I was indeed close to death that night — no joke.

I will do a separate post about how the Princesa HOA and Board were well aware that this would happen… and did nothing to stop it, and as a matter of fact, they made it worse by turning the Police away 3 times!

As mentioned above, I have a few more details to add that need to be a part of their own story…. But for now, this is a lot to for me share and for you consume. It’s taken me a week to recover from writing about the first home invasion – Retaliation is Real - Home Invasion #1— this break-in was so much worse, as I did think, and still do think, that if Cesar had NOT been in the condo with me, I would be dead or severely injured.

Lessons learned —

• I do not believe women are safe — ever. Maybe I’ve watched too much Forensic Files, Law & Order, Snapped, whatever…. .. the court/judicial system is NOT set up to protect us. So in 2023 I am going to take self defense courses and learn how to protect myself. Fuck (sorry for my language mom) these men who think the can intimidate and abuse women. You come after me in 2023 — I will take you down myself. Be prepared to lose your eyeballs and be humiliated that a 5’2″ 115 pound woman kicked your ass.
• The justice and court systems work at a snails pace — there is zero sense of urgency. I would love to see a system where victims/survivors were protected and given the same benefit of the doubt as the perpetrator/offender. Not sure where I can contribute here, I’m open to ideas and suggestions.
• I’m forever grateful that I have money to hire attorneys to help me navigate this insanity and for the friends that support me 100000% . I can’t imagine how overwhelming this process would be for single moms, less privileged folks, or women who have become isolated due to controlling partners (see Maid on Netflix).
• The condo that Trash claims is his is indeed NOT his. It is mine. Here is the story:INSERT STORY HERE.

I am grateful for the Order of Protection here in the states (see US Order of Protection Upheld). I have been told by my Mexico attorney that it is almost impossible to get an OOP in MX, so I just have to be vigilant while in Mexico make sure I am never alone, always with friends, and I let the Princesa security know my whereabouts at all times.

Last but not least, this break-in and the recorded Ring doorbell videos were evidence enough for Verizon to transfer my number back into my own account. Story here — How I Got My Phone Number Back From My Ex.