“Pay or stay”: Fargo renters say crime, chained-captive case fueling push to leave complex

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Tenants at a south Fargo apartment complex say fear and frustration are boiling over after years of crime concerns — and now, after police found a woman chained inside one of the units, some residents are trying to get out of their leases, citing safety concerns.

A long-time renter at the Osgood Townsite apartments, who wished to remain anonymous, told Valley News Live she feels trapped.

“The last two years here have been the worst of our lives,” she said. “I have to either pay or stay.”

The woman says management at the Property Resources Group (PRG) complex gave her two options: pay thousands of dollars to break her lease early or find someone else to take it over.

“They said, yeah, you can pay out your lease which is like $7,854 or I could find somebody to take over the lease,” she said. “Well, nobody’s gonna want to take over the lease at this point, that’s just not going to happen.”

She says she’s lived at Osgood for years and has gotten used to doing her own “security” — checking hallways, staying alert, and carrying protection. But she says the recent case of a woman allegedly held captive in unit 306 was the breaking point.

As previously reported, police were called to the apartment at 4911 44th Ave. S. on Nov. 3, 2026, after a maintenance worker on a routine call reported hearing cries for help.

Investigators say he went into the apartment and found a woman chained to a bed, with a security camera pointed at her and tin foil covering the bedroom windows.

Prosecutors have charged 40-year-old Arturo Calzada-Becerril and 41-year-old Erendira Amoles with kidnapping, assault, and domestic violence.

According to court documents, the woman told investigators she was brought to Fargo from Mexico in 2024 by her ex-husband, Calzada-Becerril, and had been chained in the apartment and not allowed outside for two years.

Both suspects remain in the Cass County Jail as the case moves through the courts.

The renter trying to leave Osgood says she is not surprised no one discovered the captive sooner, based on how she has seen staff enter her own unit.

“Anytime they go into my apartment, my security alarms go off and all they do is open the apartment door, look down the hall, and then walk out... I have them on video doing this,” she said. “They don’t actually go in the rooms or anything.”

In the days since the arrests, multiple residents at the PRG-managed property have spoken with Valley News Live, describing break-ins, being robbed, and broader concerns about crime and security in and around the building.

Several say the kidnapping case is just the latest – and most disturbing – example in what they feel has been a long slide in safety at the complex.

One tenant shared a mass email she says came from management after the kidnapping case. In it, management wrote they have been working closely with the Fargo Police Department and will “maintain presence of our on-site patrol team to help support the safety and security of our residents.”

PRG previously told Valley News Live that resident safety is important and that its security team “does walk each floor of the buildings” and staff have seen guards “actively patrolling the property.”

But some tenants say that does not match their experience.

Gina Vazquez, Osgood Townsite resident, said, “I have no idea who the security guy is, I have no idea who they’re talking about.”

She added, “I come in at all hours of the night because of my job, I’ve never seen a security car... are we sure there’s security?”

Other residents do report seeing a security officer on-site.

The tenant who wants out of her lease says the gap between what’s being promised and what tenants say they actually see is exactly why she and others are pushing to leave.

“So, nobody is getting answers,” she said. “It’s just become this big ordeal and I think everybody at this point is just fed up. They don’t feel safe.”

“The more people who come forward and say they don’t feel safe, the more likely the apartment complex is gonna have to let us go,” she added.

Valley News Live will be speaking with a rental attorney later this week to examine what rights renters may have when they no longer feel safe in their apartment and under what circumstances they might be able to legally break a lease.