No home in America is safe from criminals in Kamala Harris’s home state of California.
Squatters have completely taken over a massive Los Angeles mansion in the posh neighborhood of Hollywood Hills, turning what was once a gorgeous house into a graffiti-ridden eyesore. Moreover, lawful homeowners in the area are being threatened by their unwanted new ‘neighbors,’ and some have already been harmed.
As The New York Post notes, the graffiti ‘art’ features a grinning heart character “standing” the entire height of the home surrounded by “tags.” These are squatters’ names and initials sprayed on in different fonts and colors.
Neighbors explained to NBC Los Angeles that the house has been vacant for approximately a decade, but squatters started moving in slightly less than two years ago. Then, over the last week, graffiti began appearing on the mansion.
Below is a video report showing the devastation wrought by these leechers.
WATCH:
One neighbor, Mateo Herrerros, told NBC Los Angeles that the squatters are now targeting other houses, and they feel threatened.
“The guys who come tag, they’re tagging other houses on other properties,” Herrerros explained. “I couldn’t care less about this house. It’s an abandoned house. The owner doesn’t care about it. I don’t really care about it. It’s just the element it brings.”
Another neighbor also revealed that residents are also under attack from unwanted squatters. For example, one of the squatters recently attacked a homeowner with a “steel rebar and beer bottle.”
NBC Los Angeles reported on Friday that the LAPD has responded to incidents at the property four times in the last two days. WPVI revealed that police removed ten people on Wednesday and arrested one person on a warrant.
But one neighbor said the police told them their hands were tied when it came to solving the squatter problem due to the actions of the absent homeowner.
KTLA obtained a public records search showing that the home belongs to John Middleton, the son of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team owner. The outlet revealed that the search shows Middleton hasn’t paid taxes in years, and the property has a lien.
NBC Los Angeles also revealed the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety declared the property a nuisance and ordered Middleton to build a fence and secure the property in Oct. 2022. He refused, so the city erected the fence instead.
Middleton also reportedly owns another Hollywood Hills home that is also heavily targeted by squatters.
Councilmember Nithya Raman called the house a “public safety issue” and demanded Middleton take action but refused to condemn the squatters in a statement released by her office:
Our office has been in close contact with the Los Angeles Police Department as well as the Department of Building and Safety regarding the ongoing situation at 7571 Mulholland Drive. An abatement order was previously issued by DBS, and subsequently ignored by the property owner. While DBS secured the property with fencing, that security measure was breached.
This owner is in egregious violation of the law and we are elevating the issue with the abandoned buildings unit at the Department of Building and Safety to ensure that the fullest extent of enforcement is being implemented urgently and swiftly. This is a public safety issue with serious consequences for both neighbors and the surrounding community. Irresponsible property owners like the one at 7571 Mulholland Drive must take accountability for their property or face action from the city.
