The landlord of a Bronx squatter house where eight armed migrants allegedly sold drugs said he feared for his life after being ripped off by the tenants.
The Venezuelan migrants, who he claimed had been living together without paying rent since August and terrorizing him and the neighborhood, were evacuated from the apartment of the damaged Bronx home on March 27.
According to the NYPD, the alleged migrants were busted after police received a call about a person with a gun at the Hull Avenue home in Norwood.
When the police arrived, they found one of the suspects, Hector Desousa-Villalta, 24, brandishing a firearm nearby. He then fled to a basement apartment, where officers followed and arrested him.
Other suspects arrested include; Jaiver Alborno, 22., Yoessy Pino Castillo, 20., Yerbin Lozado-Munoz, 25., Yojairo Martinez, 42., Miquel Vaamondes-Barrios, 31., Jefferson Orlando Abreau, 39 and Johan Cardenas Silva, 35.
Group of gun-toting migrant squatters busted in Bronx basement apartment on weapons, drug charges https://t.co/bIbMNfiS7f pic.twitter.com/3uE6PvGERK
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) April 2, 2024
According to the New York Post, the landlord, who asked not to be identified, revealed that pro-squatter rules prevented him from evicting the migrant since they refused to pay and caused chaos on the block.
“Our New York law is not favorable to safety because of squatter rights,” he said. “One month they live there, you cannot take them out until processing, and the process takes year after year.”
Migrant squatters are technically colonizers. https://t.co/xsf0YmHg1T
— Jason Curtis Anderson (@JCAndersonNYC) April 5, 2024
The house owner also fears losing his house after months of lost rent.
“I’ve been suffering. I’ve been scared. The neighbors are all scared, they tell me,” he said. “I install cameras, and they disconnect all the cameras. I finally got them all out and locked the door, and they broke the window and went back in.”
Neighbors confirmed that the migrants ran a weapons and drug delivery service from the apartment and terrorized the neighborhood.
“They were delivering ketamine, weed, coke, guns, and it was going all day and all night,” one of the neighbors, John Colby, said. “It’s all out in the open, and it’s all non-stop crazy. “I really feel bad for the landlord. He’s a nice guy, and this situation is just insane.”
However, even after the squatters had been arrested, the landlord still fears they’d find a way to get even.
“That is why I don’t want to be on TV. They are still out there,” he said. “It’s very dangerous. I hope nobody has to go through this.