When squatters moved in next door, neighborhood angered when law enforcement response limited - Yahoo News
Oct. 23—When Lisa Smith noticed the air conditioning in the house next door switched on, she began to suspect something was wrong. The Fairfax Junior High teacher knew that the owner of the home had died the previous year and nothing indicated the house had been sold.
Soon after, the lights started switching on and off, and items in the windows began to move.
"I'm talking to the neighbors going like, 'are you seeing something?'" she said of the occurrences, which began about a month ago. "One of them pops up and says, 'oh no, there are homeless people breaking in. They are going through the side gate.'"
The conflicts in the county island near the intersection of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue began soon after. The front yard of the property flooded when the unknown neighbors turned on the water in the house. A verbal confrontation with the squatters ensued. But despite calls to the Kern County Sheriff's Office, no arrests were made since the home's true owner is unclear.
Smith suspects the home has now become known as a "bando," an abandoned house that becomes a magnet to unwanted guests.
"Right here in the middle of middle America, breaking into houses, breaking into abandoned homes is quite the trend, and if you can score one where the utilities are still on, apparently that is the big score," she said. "It's a nightmare in my life."
To seasoned officials, squatters in abandoned homes are not a particularly new phenomenon. They say the problem has also not grown with the increase in homelessness observed throughout the state and country over the past few years.
But despite the widespread understanding that squatting is a persistent issue, law enforcement admits enforcement can be difficult if the owner of the property cannot be located.
"As long as there are vacant residences, there is this problem," said Bakersfield Police Department Sgt. Robert Pair. "If we show up and it's obvious, like you have a situation where the people have no paperwork and the front door has kicked in ... and we're able to get ahold of somebody who is a stakeholder in the property, we'll arrest somebody for trespassing. It's when you get a lot of factors when the truth is difficult to ascertain, that's when it becomes a problem."
source: https://news.yahoo.com/squatters-moved-next-door-neighborhood-010100535.html
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