Renters at a south Fargo apartment complex say they are trying to break their leases after a maintenance worker found a woman chained inside a unit there, with some tenants describing break-ins, robberies and a growing sense that the building is not safe. One longtime resident says she now checks hallways, stays alert and carries her own protection because she does not trust the property's security to do it for her.
Police were called to 4911 44th Ave. S. on Nov. 3 after a maintenance worker on a routine call reported hearing cries for help coming from inside unit 306, according to Valley News Live. The maintenance worker entered the apartment and found a woman chained to a bed, with a security camera pointed at her and tin foil covering the bedroom windows. The station reports the complex, Osgood Townsite Apartments, is now facing pointed questions from tenants about who was watching the building while that was happening.
Charges Filed, Bond Set at $500,000 Each
Prosecutors charged 40-year-old Arturo Calzada-Becerril and 41-year-old Erendira Amoles with kidnapping, along with assault and domestic violence, per the same outlet's reporting. According to InForum, Amoles also faces a misdemeanor charge of simple assault, while Calzada-Becerril faces one count of misdemeanor domestic violence. A judge set bond on Friday, Nov. 6, at $500,000 each, InForum reported, and both remain held at the Cass County Jail.
Court documents cited by the station state the woman told investigators her ex-husband brought her to Fargo from Mexico in 2024, and that she had been chained in the apartment and not allowed outside for two years. She also reported being beaten and sexually assaulted, and alleged the pair kept her confined in the apartment to obtain immigration status, according to the same documents. The allegations against Calzada-Becerril and Amoles have not been proven in court.
“Pay or Stay”: One Renter's $7,854 Dilemma
For at least one Osgood Townsite renter, the case in unit 306 was the breaking point. She now faces a choice between paying $7,854 to end her lease early or finding someone willing to take it over. She said she believes nobody will take over her lease given everything that has come to light at the complex, leaving her to feel trapped by the situation even as she wants out.
In the meantime, she said she has become her own security, checking hallways and staying alert, and carrying protection for herself. She also described an unsettling incident in which staff entering her apartment set off her security alarms and then left after only looking down the hall, rather than addressing the alert. She said tenants are not getting answers and do not feel safe, and she believes more residents speaking up publicly could push the complex to release them from their leases.
Residents Split on Whether Security Is Visible
Beyond the chaining case, Osgood Townsite residents have reported break-ins, being robbed, and broader concerns about crime and security at the complex, the station's report notes. Accounts of on-site security vary: some residents say they have seen a security officer on the property, while resident Gina Vazquez said she does not know who the security guard is and has never seen a security car.
Property Resources Group, which manages the complex, told the outlet it is cooperating with law enforcement but cannot share further details due to privacy concerns. PRG management wrote that it works closely with the Fargo Police Department and will maintain an on-site patrol presence to support resident safety, adding that its security team does walk each floor of the buildings and that guards actively patrol the property. The company also said its property manager reported the suspicious activity to the Fargo Police Department. PRG's management did not directly address the station's questions about security-provider patrol requirements, maintenance staff's access to units, or whether unit 306 had been inspected in the past two years.
City's Inspection Program and What Comes Next
Fargo runs a rental-housing inspection program that the City of Fargo says is intended to protect residents' health, safety and welfare, preserve the rental housing stock and support neighborhood viability, with the city's Inspections Department enforcing the adopted International Property Maintenance Code and Fargo Land Development Code, Chapter 20. It remains unclear whether that inspection process touched unit 306 in the two years before the woman was found there, since PRG did not answer that question directly.
Valley News Live has said it plans to speak with a rental attorney later this week about renters' rights and when leases may legally be broken, a question that remains open for tenants like the one facing the nearly $8,000 buyout. For now, residents at Osgood Townsite say they are left weighing fear against cost, with no clear answer yet on whether the complex will let them go.
