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For 13 years, KhaRabia Rayford tried to get her landlord, Thomas John, to repair the leaking pipes, falling plaster, and broken boilers that plagued the residents of six apartment buildings on the 4400 block of 1st Place NE. In the process, she endured eviction threats and the towing of her car. On April 21, John and his wife, Anna John, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of housing-code violations at 10 properties in the District, including Rayford’s. Under the agreement, the Johns each face a maximum of four years in prison and a $4,800 fine. “I am extremely disappointed and horrified that this man who has disrupted whole families’ lives can get away with less than a slap on the hand,” Rayford says. She says she hopes the sentencing, scheduled for May 29, will go further: “He should not be allowed to be a landlord in Washington, D.C.” —Annys Shin