Neighbors Concerned Squatter Is Living In Rowlett Home
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
ROWLETT (CBS 11 NEWS) - Empty for years, a Rowlett home has a new resident, but neighbors claim he's a squatter.
Victor Krivozoubov answered the door for a CBS 11 News crew Tuesday. He said he pays rent, about $300 a month in cash, to live at corner of Bryn Mawr and Fairfield. "I pay to friends. My friend pays to an agency," he explained.
The City of Rowlett isn't so sure it's a legitimate deal. Police Chief Mike Brodnax told Krivozoubov, "All the neighbors are calling us. They believe you are squatting, that you have no legal right to be here."
Talisha Gamel lives several doors down and says she called police when she saw a man carrying clothes into the house. "If they can't get the man out, what do you do? I'm being honest. It's scary."
The City says crews have mowed the lawn at the abandoned property for years, to keep it under control. It placed liens on the land, but all letters to the owners were returned by the post office.
Rowlett also has no record of providing water to the house, but Krivozoubov insists he's had electricity and running water.
"How do you have water? You don't have a water meter with the City of Rowlett. How do you have water?" asked Chief Brodnax.
When a city worker checked, he found someone had broken a lock previously used to shut off the water. The worker also found a magnet had been installed on the meter.
"Stopping the meter from spinning," explained Brodnax. "The water still comes, but it doesn't register." It's the only conclusive evidence of a crime, according to the chief.
The water is now off and the city is investigating.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)