A terrified woman filmed the moment she came home from vacation to find $49,100 in property stolen and two squatters laying in her bed – who showed her how they broke in and suggested she get locks for her windows before leaving.
The Greenbelt, Maryland Office 2021 woman returned to her home on Edmonston Rd April 5 to find her front door damaged and her apartment devoid of possessions and furniture – except her bed, where a black man and a white woman were laying.
All that remained were trash bags and trash on the walls – even the doors to her kitchen cabinets had been removed.When she left for vacation on March 28, her apartment was fully furnished, according to the Greenbelt City Police Department.
Although she captured the incident on video, the squatters still haven’t been caught, the department said, and police distributed their photos hoping that a member of the public might recognize them.
The man and woman who broke into the apartment on Edmonton Avenue in Greenbelt and stole $49,100 in possessions still haven’t been located by police
An unknown woman sits on the end of the unsuspecting homeowner’s bed – the only item of furniture left in her home when she returned from vacation on April 5 after the squatters had totally ransacked the apartment
The male squatter told the homeowner that this was a ‘learning experience,’ and showed her how he and his companion broke into her apartment as they gathered their effects
Pictured is the unknown woman the Greenbelt homeowner found in her bed after returning from vacation on April 5.The two squatters have not yet been caught, and police are looking to the public for information that could lead to their capture
The male squatter told the shocked homeowner that there were three ways her apartment could be broken into, and suggested that she get a lock for her window before leaving
Pictured is the exterior of the Maryland woman’s apartment in Greenbelt, Maryland
The two squatters were surprised that the homeowner was home, with one exclaiming ‘I thought you was gone’ at the onset of the video.
The panicked resident asked the two strangers how they got into her apartment.
‘Please show me how you got inside because I don’t feel safe,’ she asked as the two squatters milled around her bedroom, gathering their possessions in reusable grocery bags.
The man replied that there were ‘three ways you can get into your apartment.’
‘Got everything babe?Excuse me,’ the man said as he nonchalantly pushed past the homeowner to gather his effects from her bathroom.
‘Yes, please get all of your things, I want you to leave nothing behind,’ the homeowner said, continuing to film.
As he calmly gathered up his things, the man told the shocked woman that this was a ‘learning experience,’ and was gracious enough to show her ‘how nobody can ever come here without the key.’
‘It’s three ways you can get in here,’ the man said.’Your window here, need to put a lock on here.’
Police said that the squatters told the woman that they ‘took all of her property’ and then ‘became aggressive with the victims before fleeing on foot in an unknown direction,’ although this wasn’t captured on camera.
Before she began filming, the woman told Fox 5, the man attacked her as she tried to flee.
‘He tackles me, and I’m like “sir this is my home you not gone let me leave?” He’s like, “no I’m just saying you not gone call the police. I’m going to give you your apartment you just not gone call the police.”‘
‘Not only were they in my home, but everything in my home was gone except for my bed because he [said] he loved my bed so much,’ she told the local outlet.
Police said that the squatters told the woman that they ‘took all of her property’ and then ‘became aggressive with the victims before fleeing on foot in an unknown direction,’ although this wasn’t captured on camera
‘And I’m like who are you?And he says my name. He’s like you didn’t pay your rent. I’m like what are you talking about? I paid my rent.’
‘I just couldn’t believe this was happening to me, I see this on TV,’ she said. ‘They really took over my apartment, and I was just trying to remain calm.But at the same time, I just couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I come home and literally, two people are in my bed relaxing.’
Before the squatters left, she said, the man told her that he intended to do the same thing at another apartment.In light of her horrific ordeal, she said, her apartment complex is allowing her to break her lease.
Maryland does not have a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law – in 20 states, residents can use firearms or other lethal force against home intruders if they ‘reasonably believe’ they face an imminent threat of death or serious injury under their state’s jurisdiction
After an armed homeowner thwarted a home intruder in Florida last week, frightening him into the clutches of waiting deputies, Santa Rose County Sheriff Bob Johnson said that residents would not be in trouble for using firearms to defend their homes.
‘If someone is breaking into your house, you’re more than welcome to shoot them in Santa Rosa County.We prefer that you do, actually,’ Johnson said.