Cops: Man Was Staying In Apartment Complex’s Former Office

June 6, 2024

A 62-year-old man was arrested after he broke into an unoccupied office unit and was turning it into a place to stay, according to court papers.

On May 21 at 8:16 a.m., Falls Township police responded to a vagrant complaint at the Alexandria Apartments on Plaza Boulevard.

At the scene, officers spoke with leasing office staff who reported that a previously used office unit was found to be occupied by a man who did not have permission to be there, police said.

According to the leasing office staff, the unit was locked from the inside and was supposed to be unoccupied They reported that a male suspect had gained entry by breaking away a fiberglass board that had been installed to replace the glass on the porch door, police said.

Officers confirmed the staff’s account, observing the damaged fiberglass and door frame, police said.

Officers noted that at the base of the door, there was an opening large enough for someone to crawl through. Various items had reportedly been pushed against the door from the inside to prevent entry.

Given that the front door was locked, officers had to enter the unit through the opening at the bottom of the door. Inside, they found a 62-year-old man who had previously lived in Philadelphia, police said.

The man in the space was taken into custody, police said.

While in the back of a patrol vehicle, the man claimed the apartment complex was at fault for him staying in the unit, police said.

“It was their fault for not using caulk around the fiberglass,” he reportedly said.

Due to the damage, the apartment complex will need to replace the entire door and fiberglass, police said.

The 62-year-old man was charged with criminal trespassing, burglary, and defiant trespassing. He was preliminarily arraigned by on-call District Judge Charles Jonas and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $75,000, which was later reduced by a Bucks County Court of Common Pleas judge to 10 percent of $25,000.