Squatters take over apartment while man cares for mother out-of-town
One northeast Portland resident went away for 6 months only to find squatters had taken over his apartment.
By Spencer Thomas
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PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — One northeast Portland resident went away for 6 months only to find squatters had taken over his apartment.
“Violated, I feel violated.”
The exact feeling the Milepost 5 resident, who would like to go by the name David, felt when his life was turned inside out.
“In August I had to fly down to my mom for a medical emergency, she triple fractured her elbow and the doctor said you need to be there to take care of her.”
A short-term visit that turned into an extended six-month stay, until he received a call from his landlord that he described as heart dropping.
“They called me and said there are individuals in your unit, and I immediately freaked out. I have not allowed anyone into my unit, I’m the only one who has the keys to my apartment, I haven’t given them to anyone else, call the police,” says David.
David says everything he owned in his apartment that was his was gone including sentimental items such as his late father’s jacket, and photos of a friend who had recently passed away.
Portland Police Bureau says three suspects were squatting in the apartment over a two-week time period.
On January 18, PPB arrested one suspect, Andrew Dial of Portland, on a charge of burglary in the first degree; the others have yet to be found.
David’s friend setup a GoFundMe page for him that hit $9,000 in 24 hours. Since then, the fund has collected over $13,050 and counting, donations coming in from across the community.
With tear-filled eyes, David says, “at the end of the day, everything I lost, even the sentimental items, it’s just stuff but your friends and your loved ones are the things that matter.”
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