Residents in an east Las Vegas neighborhood say they are done with squatters and are teaming up to protect their properties.
Greg Sheeler contacted Squatter Spotters because he says the problem has been increasing recently near Desert Inn Road and Nellis Boulevard.
"We are just fed up here with it," Sheeler said.
Sheeler said he and his neighbors had pushed squatters out of a pair of homes across the street but recently noticed a group living on a vacant property around the corner.
Boards on the windows and doors of that home are clearly marked “no trespassing.”
A woman was huddled behind a shopping cart, telling 13 Action News crews to go away, adding that she was the only person on the property.
Walking along the side fence, there is trash, shopping carts and a pair of tents scattered across the backyard.
One of the plywood boards clearly broke away from the home, allowing anyone access.
Cameras also caught a woman on the ground inside the home, searching the floor with a flashlight.
The three people in the backyard quickly left after spotting the camera. But one of them came back just minutes later asking why 13 Action News was there. We asked if he had permission to be on the property.
“I don't have permission to live anywhere, I’m homeless," the unidentified man responded.
When asked about the trash in the backyard, the homeless man responded saying he picks up after himself, adding that he stays in a tent behind the home.
Neighbors want the property cleaned up and the people gone, saying they are causing problems in the neighborhood.
One homeowner, who didn’t want to be identified, said he held a person at gunpoint after they broke into his father’s now vacant house.
"They got in through the side door and broke the deadbolt and the lock off," he said.
We reached out to Clark County about the home in question. A spokesman said there weren’t any active complaints against the property, but that they would have code enforcement look into the complaints.
