Man says people moved into home he was looking to sell in SE Portland for several days
By Chandler Watkins
Click here for updates on this story
PORTLAND Oregon (KPTV) — A man trying to sell a home in Southeast Portland said he was shocked when he got a call from a neighbor saying people had moved into the home and had been living there for several days.
“My neighbor in the back here gave me a call and said hey, you have someone coming in and out of your property,” said Scott Elliot. “I called the police immediately.”
Elliot said Portland Police and his brother came to the property, but the alleged squatters took off.
“Basically, they left everything they had,” Elliot said. “They’d moved into the basement. They had a mattress in the room down there, all their clothing, they were doing their laundry, and then they had all their what I believe were stolen goods. Tools, 5 cell phones they were charging, multiple prescription drug bottles. We found what we believe was methamphetamines. Multiple needles, some used and some not.”
Portland Police confirm an officer made a trespassing report, but said the case is now inactive. In a statement provided to Fox 12, a Portland Police spokesperson said “I’m not sure if there are potential leads to follow, but no doubt it would take time to investigate further. This is a situation where we wish we could do more to follow up on leads, but we have to prioritize our officers’ time based on an imbalance in our resources and demand for our services.”
Elliot said he understands there is an officer shortage, but finds it concerning that the people who allegedly squatted in the home might not face consequences.
Elliot said he was born and raised in the neighborhood and said a lot has changed over the years. He ended up moving out of Portland several years ago.
“Rarely do you ever see a police officer here, anywhere in this whole neighborhood,” said Elliot. “It’s hard to blame them due to their shortages, but it’s come down to the fact that you just have to police yourself now.”
Elliot said he will be speaking to the District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.
“From what I’ve seen and been through, I doubt they’ll pursue this,” said Elliot. “It’s just one in so many that probably flood into them every day. With all the gun violence and everything else, this is obviously very low on the priority list, so I don’t expect anything to happen.”
While he doesn’t know where the investigation will go from here, Elliot has cleaned up the home and says he is thankful for his neighbors noticing something was off and alerting him.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
