{"id":159814,"date":"2026-03-10T23:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T23:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/159814\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T23:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T23:58:11","slug":"nyc-squatter-from-hell-arrested-for-smashing-neighbors-doorbell-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/159814\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC \u2018squatter from hell\u2019\u00a0arrested for smashing neighbor’s doorbell camera"},"content":{"rendered":"

The accused nightmare tenant squatting in a rent-controlled West Village apartment<\/a> was arrested over the weekend for allegedly smashing a neighbor\u2019s doorbell camera, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

Melvin DeJesus, 66, was caught on his neighbor\u2019s camera knocking on the door repeatedly, taping a note to it \u2014 and then ripping the Ring Video Doorbell off the wall and taking it with him on Thursday, March 5, prosecutors alleged.<\/p>\n

Melvin DeJesus was arrested on Saturday for ripping a doorbell camera off of a neighbor\u2019s wall, officials said. \u00a9\u00bf2026 Clear Window\u00ae\u00bf<\/p>\n

Witnesses told The Post they saw \u201ca phalanx\u201d of cops on Saturday approach DeJesus, who was sitting in a car once used by his former roommate and late lifelong resident<\/a> of 400 Bleeker St, John Grafenecker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just took him out of the car slowly and cuffed him,\u201d one witness said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Video shared with The Post showed roughly six cops surrounding the black SUV<\/a> as they arrested DeJesus, while an unidentified man who was sitting next to DeJesus exits the vehicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeJesus\u2019 charges on Saturday were the latest addition to the ex-con\u2019s lengthy rap sheet \u2014 which includes an attempted murder charge from 1987. William Farrington for NY Post<\/p>\n

DeJesus was charged with criminal mischief and theft on Saturday, the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office said, the latest addition to the ex-con\u2019s lengthy rap sheet \u2014 which includes an attempted murder charge from 1987.<\/p>\n

The alleged squatter from hell moved into the 5th-floor unit at 400 Bleecker St. roughly two decades ago when Grafenecker took him in, a relative of the late tenant\u2019s previously told The Post.<\/p>\n

An unidentified man exits the car he and DeJesus sat in when cops arrested the unruly tenant. \u00a9\u00bf2026 Clear Window\u00ae\u00bf<\/p>\n

DeJesus stayed in the apartment after Grafenecker\u2019s death at 84 last year \u2014 and now faces both eviction proceedings and a separate lawsuit from the building owner accusing him of turning the desirable apartment into a \u201cflophouse\u201d and terrorizing his neighbors.<\/p>\n

Neighbors said they are so frightened, that some are considering moving out \u2014 and claimed that despite a court-issued restraining order against DeJesus, the building isn\u2019t doing enough to keep them safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have tons of emails from all the tenants to management asking for safety measures to be taken and management failing to do so, throughout the last year,\u201d said one building resident, who asked to remain anonymous.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is honestly ruining my life and my right to safe housing,\u201d a tenant said of DeJesus\u2019 behavior. \u00a9\u00bf2026 Clear Window\u00ae\u00bf<\/p>\n

\u201cI have also relocated at a friend\u2019s because I am not safe in my apartment,\u201d the resident said, adding that other tenants are also considering fleeing the building, where a two-bedroom unit recently rented for $6,700 a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is honestly ruining my life and my right to safe housing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the building owner, The Brodsky Organization, said in a statement: \u201cWe\u2019ve taken every possible means to address this unfortunate situation and remain committed to maintaining safe, clean, and comfortable housing for all residents. <\/p>\n

The company is suing DeJesus for $5.5 million and won a restraining order against him barring him from harassing tenants last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is honestly ruining my life and my right to safe housing,\u201d said a tenant at 400 Bleeker St.. William Farrington for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cOur tenants were informed of the restraining order within an hour of us becoming aware of it on February 25,\u201d the rep said. \u201cSimilarly, management was made aware of the recent pest issues and immediately addressed the issues when they arose.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeJesus has claimed in court papers that he has the right to stay in the apartment because the now-deceased longtime tenant, Grafenecker, was actually his gay lover of 30 years \u2014 an argument legal experts have said could allow him to keep the coveted rent-controlled unit.<\/p>\n

But a close relative of Grafenecker\u2019s poured cold water on the romantic relationship claim, as did another tenant in the building Tuesday.<\/p>\n

DeJesus \u201ccontinuously made homophobic attacks and insults on the gay tenants in the building,\u201d the tenant claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also hearing their fights all day all night for months \u2014 I can guarantee they were not in a relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grafenecker lived in apartment 5B from 1946 until his death last fall.<\/p>\n

DeJesus could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The accused nightmare tenant squatting in a rent-controlled West Village apartment was arrested over the weekend for allegedly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[303,68,53965,75,84,83,4327,57,9,24,63,14835,7978,58,2380],"class_list":["post-159814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-crime","tag-exclusive","tag-landlord-tenant-dispute","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-manhattan-supreme-court","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-squatters","tag-tenants","tag-us-news","tag-west-village"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}