Zekiah Wright’s arrest linked to messy breakup with Jackie Steele

They agreed that Steele would later retrieve large items left behind, like furniture. During a visit to collect smaller items at Wright’s request, Steele was surprised to find her leather bench allegedly discarded on the sidewalk without permission. Steele had told Wright via text to either keep or discard only small, non-sentimental items. Steele also returned to the apartment occasionally to pick up mail or care for Wright’s dog, she claims. On one occasion, Steele brought a spare key to Wright after they were locked out. Wright later requested Steele to collect remaining belongings, and they agreed on early June for the final pickup

Things started going south in early June, when Wright claimed Steele “blocked my access to various money-earning opportunities by using my passwords, which she stole to lock me out of my accounts, and deleting all of the information within the accounts.”

Days later, the situation took a turn for the worse, though exactly what happened differs wildly in each’s version of events.

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER REQUEST (Zekiah Wright)

GRANTED TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER RESPONSE (Jackie Steele) 

As planned, Steele arrived with movers to retrieve her final belongings on June 9th.

That day, according to Wright:

“Patricia Betzner (Jackie Steele) stalked me at home. She waited until I left, and her friend, Alana Roshay, knocked on my door, which my roommate answered. Patricia Betzner waited for my roommate to leave and then entered my home, trashed/destroyed my belongings, and stole thousands of dollars worth of property. She traumatized my pets, who were scared and shaking when I found them hiding under the bed. Patricia Betzner left a note admitting to entering my home and stealing my property.”

The incident spurred Wright to seek a protective order against Steele the very next day. The order, granted by the judge, forced Steele to stay at least 100 yards away from Wright, her three pets, her workplace, vehicle and the home they shared with former roommate Desa. Steele was forbidden from contacting Wright. 

Wright had also requested that Steele be barred from West Hollywood City Council Chambers, but that provision does not appear to have been approved by the judge.

“Without permission, Patricia Betzner (Jackie Steele) accessed my passwords to all of my business-related accounts,” Wright wrote. “She used the passwords to access my business social media accounts, which I had been building for over two years, and deleted the accounts, including all customer contact information and correspondence, as well as all my intellectual property (i.e., posts, flyers, events, invitations).”

In a response to the request for protective order filed July 12th, with the court, Steele disputed all of the accusations leveled against her. On June 9, she says she arrived with the movers at the agreed-upon time which was concurrent with the LA Pride Parade, which Wright was attending. She writes:

“When I first arrived, I sat with Drizzy (Petitioner’s dog) and then put him in a separate room (kitchen) with water and snacks before I let the movers enter. There was absolutely no damage to Petitioner’s property during the move. And I did not, nor would I ever, harm or traumatize an animal. I left behind all of my kitchen items, including all appliances, cutlery, plate and glassware, as well as lighting fixtures, a bookcase, outdoor pillows, a table on the balcony, cast iron cookware, and camp gear. I did not trash or destroy the apartment nor did I steal thousands of dollars’ worth of property. Petitioner’s claim that I left a note admitting that I stole her property is yet another fabrication by Petitioner. Attached hereto as Exhibit “C” is a copy of the note that I left. As the court can plainly see, not only did I tell Petitioner that I ‘made sure Kitty (so cute!) and Drizzy were safe,’ I also wrote ‘I’m so glad we could close this chapter cleanly” and thanked her ‘for all the love and all the lessons.’ Nowhere do I state I stole her property!”