When Miles and Melina Armstead bought their dream home in Oakland, California, they envisioned a community where kids played outside and neighbors borrowed cups of sugar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like everything we hoped for,\u201d Melina recalled in Netflix\u2019s Worst Neighbor Ever. \u201cBut everything changed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not long after moving in with their four children in Oct. 2017, they were under siege: Their neighbor, Jamal \u201cJT\u201d Thomas, inexplicably launched a lengthy campaign of harassment and violence that ended with the fatal shooting of Miles. <\/p>\n
Miles Armstead and Melina Armstead\u2019s Home Becomes a Hellscape\u00a0<\/p>\n
After moving in, the couple was embraced by their neighbors, including Patricia and Walter Thomas and their adult son, JT, who lived in the detached garage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would see his mom come and go,\u201d said Melina, \u201cand she was always very sweet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything changed in Aug. 2019, when the Thomases were evicted following their homeowner\u2019s death. While his parents moved out, JT began squatting on the property. When the new owners noticed, they kicked him out and boarded up the home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe assumed he was going to leave,\u201d Melina recalled, \u201cbut he didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first sign of trouble began on Thanksgiving Day. As the Armsteads sat down to eat, JT banged on their front door and accused their dog of being a nuisance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very angry and very upset,\u201d said Melina. \u201cWe had never seen him that way.\u201d <\/p>\n
It was the first of many incidents during which JT allegedly harassed and threatened the Armstead family, according to a\u00a0lawsuit<\/a> Melina filed after Miles\u2019 death, alleging that county and city officials failed to curb JT\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was traumatizing for the kids,\u201d Melina remembered. \u201cIt scared the crap out of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She wanted to call the police, but Miles felt compassion for JT. That approach didn\u2019t work.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Dec. 2019, a newly pregnant Melina was watching TV when was startled by the sound of shattering glass. Large rocks crashed on her couch through the window and flying shards of glass cut her hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n She called 911, but police lacked enough evidence to arrest JT, and he continued hounding the family. <\/p>\n According to the lawsuit, JT shattered the family\u2019s windows with rocks and bricks and at one point, threatened to burn down their home. One brick he threw nearly hit Miles in the head and damaged his laptop, according to the warrant. The family eventually boarded up their windows to protect themselves, per the lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cFor some reason,\u201d neighbor Matt Guido said, \u201cJT thought with his whole heart that Miles was harassing him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By then, the Armsteads were barely sleeping. Miles stayed up every night, flanked by a baseball bat, while neighbors participated in stakeouts.\u00a0 <\/p>\n The couple obtained a restraining order, but according to Melina, JT continued harassing her family.<\/p>\n One day, Miles came home to find JT outside. He grabbed a baseball bat and confronted JT while neighbors called the police.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe officers made light of the situation,” noted civil rights attorney Adante Pointer, \u201cand essentially trivialized the trail of terror that this family had been going through.\u201d<\/p>\n JT was arrested for making criminal threats, according to charging documents shown in the docuseries, but while handcuffed, he issued a cold warning. \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u201cGuess what, guys, I\u2018ll be right back,\u201d he said in body camera footage included in the docuseries. \u201cI\u2019m going to kill him next time.\u201d <\/p>\n Why Did JT Thomas Kill Miles Armstead?<\/p>\n With JT in custody, the family felt relieved, but peace didn\u2019t last. Two days later, he was released and returned to the neighborhood.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The family finally hit a breaking point in 2020. They moved out, but it wouldn\u2019t be their last brush with JT.\u00a0<\/p>\n On May 1, 2020, Miles left their new apartment to drop paint off at the old house. Neighbor Jose Sanchez was helping with yard work when he heard Miles say, \u201cLook who\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n JT was standing in the middle of the street. According to the warrant, he shot Miles to death.<\/p>\n