Squatters Arrested on Burglary Charges
- Media
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
On June 3, deputies from the Alpine Sheriff's Station responded to a burglary in progress at a home in the 5600 block of Dehesa Road in an unincorporated area of El Cajon.
A previous long term Airbnb renter had vacated the home and three individuals had illegally entered the property. Deputies detained and questioned the three occupants. They were admittedly squatting but claimed to have established residency.
Due to the information obtained at the time of the contact, the three occupants were released.
After further investigation, detectives from the Alpine Sheriff's Station determined the occupants had not established residency and were burglarizing the home by stealing utilities.
On Tuesday, June 23, detectives served a search warrant at the home and arrested Kevin Barlow (DOB: 07/17/1980) and Amanda Hopkins (DOB: 05/09/1981) on charges of burglary related to utility theft.
Evidence of utility theft, documents relating to the fraudulent occupation of other properties, personal electronic devices and narcotics were seized at the home.
The property has been released to the legal owner. The investigation is ongoing.
Media Contact: Lieutenant Jason Phillips | Alpine Sheriff's Station (619) 659-2600
Ocupantes Ilegales Arrestados por Cargos de Robo con Allanamiento
El 3 de Junio, oficiales de la Estación del Alguacil de Alpine acudieron a atender un reporte de robo en curso en una vivienda ubicada en la cuadra 5600 de Dehesa Road en una zona no incorporada de El Cajon.
Una persona que había alquilado la vivienda a largo plazo a través de Airbnb ya había desocupado el inmueble, y tres individuos habían entrado ilegalmente en la propiedad. Los oficiales detuvieron e interrogaron a los tres ocupantes; estos admitieron estar ocupando la vivienda ilegalmente ("squatting"), pero alegaron haber establecido residencia en el lugar.
Debido a la información obtenida en ese momento, los tres ocupantes fueron puestos en libertad.
Tras una investigación posterior, detectives de la Estación del Alguacil de Alpine determinaron que los ocupantes no habían establecido residencia y que estaban cometiendo un delito de robo al sustraer servicios públicos (como electricidad o agua).
El Martes 23 de Junio, los detectives ejecutaron una orden de registro en la vivienda y arrestaron a Kevin Barlow (fecha de nacimiento: 07/17/1980) y a Amanda Hopkins (fecha de nacimiento: 05/09/1981) bajo cargos de robo relacionados con la sustracción de servicios públicos.
En la vivienda se incautaron pruebas del robo de servicios, documentos relacionados con la ocupación fraudulenta de otras propiedades, dispositivos electrónicos personales y narcóticos.
La propiedad ha sido devuelta a su dueño legal. La investigación continúa en curso.
Para Más Información: Teniente Jason Phillips | Alpine Sheriff's Station (619) 659-2600
EDITOR'S NOTE: This has become increasingly common in the past ten years.
I had my home broken into in my last neighborhood. The female trespasser (wishing to be a squatter) was in my home for about 20 minutes. When I arrived home, she slammed the front door in my face and said it was her home. She picked a couple of locks to get in and broke my new doors. The police said she'd pay to repair them and then told me she had no money to do so.
She remained in the house with the police while I had to stand in my front yard. The police forbid me from entering my own home. Maybe they were taking a tour. They kept coming out and asking me about several rooms she told them she was renting. I told them over 10 times that she was not renting anything. They seemed to accept her story rather than mine.
I demanded she be booked but they released her down the street. I asked for the incident report and when I finally got it months later, they had redacted all her information. They told me they had to protect her privacy. Seems they were more on her side than mine.
There's something called "Cash for Keys". You have to pay the squatter to leave your home.
You want to discover them as a trespasser before they get to the squatter status. You cannot remove a squatter from your home or turn off the utilities they are using. You must evict them which takes 3-4 months.
Many times your home is destroyed in the process of getting them out.
Squatters have Squatters Rights in California.
Squatters look for empty houses (2nd homes or people on vacation).They also like houses listed for rent or sale.
Here's a news story from eight years ago.
