BAYSIDE, Queens (WABC) — Less than three weeks after a 7 On Your Side investigation first exposed an accused squatter living in a Queen’s neighborhood, the police not only removed him from the property, they arrested him and the woman he was living with in the home. They’re now facing multiple charges.
Detectives with the Queen’s District Attorney’s Office handcuffed and arrested Vernon Glass and Lusascha Taylor at the Bayside home Thursday morning and took them to Queen’s Criminal Court to be arraigned.
They’re both charged with burglary in the second degree, grand larceny and criminal trespassing. Glass and Taylor pleaded not guilty.
“We have made it very clear that you cannot take people’s property, you don’t have a legal right to be there just because you say so,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Ring camera footage shows detectives with the DA’s office arresting the duo early Thursday morning and towing cars from the driveway.
Prosecutors say they took advantage of an empty, million-dollar property.
The original owner, Richard Klibschon, died. He didn’t have any immediate heirs or family members.
District Attorney Katz said the couple had no legal right to be there, despite their attorneys claiming in court that they were paying rent to someone.
“We have no evidence that they were ever paying rent and if we did, we wouldn’t have arrested them,” Katz said.
It’s not the first time Eyewitness News reported on Vernon Glass.
Back in 2018, police in Nassau County said Glass took over a vacant home, changed the locks and rented the home to other people. He ended up taking a plea deal and was sentenced to five years probation.
“This person appears to be a professional at this, it’s his job,” said Gerard Sweeney, legal counsel to the Queen’s Public Administrator, which was appointed to represent Klibschon’s estate. “There’s no paperwork, there’s no checks for rent, there’s no leases.”
Now, for the first time in more than two years, people in the neighborhood say they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Finally somebody stepped up, thanks to you, the last broadcast you put us on the map, next thing you know they were out here, the cops were out here this morning,” said resident Rob Snedecor.
A judge gave Glass a $25,000 bond and Taylor, a $15,000 bond. They were ordered not to return to the property for any reason. They’ll be back in court next month. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.
Back in April, after neighbors reached out to local lawmakers about the situation, Congressman Tom Souzzi’s office helped get a public administrator appointed to the estate to take legal action. The public administrator was going through the court process of getting the occupants of the home removed when the District Attorney’s Office intervened, had a grand jury review the case, and brought forward the charges in the indictment.
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