A Virginia landlord is facing federal charges on allegations of defrauding the government and his tenants while also subjecting them to discriminatory behavior.
David Merryman, owner of 60 properties in Newport News and Hampton, is also accused of using threats, racially offensive language, and physical force against them. His indictment includes four tenants, a businessman, and a local city official.
Officials alleged the 58-year-old made comments against Black renters, some referencing slavery and Black Lives Matter. According to the Department of Justice, he hit one of the tenants in the face with a shovel and wielded a detached chainsaw blade against another.
The December 2022 attack was against a man identified as J.P. — a tenant at a single-family home in Hampton who wanted Merryman to fix his water heater, per the indictment. When he first moved into the property just a few months before, J.P. noticed it was “infested” with cockroaches, lacked appliances, and had black mold. When he reached out about the promised repairs prior to his arrival, Merryman allegedly called J.P., who is married to a Black woman, a n****r lover.