An east side community has accused squatters of causing major problems like setting fires and even violent crime. It's another problem brought to our attention by "squatter spotters."
This time the neighborhood is Duck Creek Village, a condominium complex near the corner of East Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway.
This isn't the first time Duck Creek Village residents have called us out for help. The last time they accused the homeowners association's president of corrupt finances.
The units in the complex are supposed to be owner-occupied, but neighbors tell us there are several illegal renters and so-called squatters.
We were told there are several units causing problems and the HOA simply doesn't care.
"They've had a burglary, a robbery at knifepoint one time, a car was stolen,” said resident Melanie Schielder. “The problem is the police don't want to come out here every time and it takes maybe four hours for them to get here."
On the outside, Duck Creek Village appears to be a pleasant place. However, Schielder says looks can be deceiving.
"The police were called a number of times," said Schielder.
She says the last few months have been riddled with crime and safety concerns.
"Somebody started a fire in the dumpster."
She and several neighbors blame squatters and illegal renters.
"They're illegally renting when they're only supposed to have 10 percent rentals here," said Schielder.
Our 13 Action News crew couldn't find any code enforcement signs marking any of the units as vacant, but neighbors pointed us to one condo in particular that they say is a center of crime. Upon approaching the unit, we were told to turn the camera away but we didn't turn it off.
Or cameras recorded the man living in the unit confidently stating he owned it. He said his name is Tony, but according to the Clark County Assessor, the owner is man named Jonathon Schaus. Beyond the debate of who owns what, Schielder says the greater issue is the HOA’s disregard for the community's complaints.
"She's blown it off and acted like it didn't matter," she said. "We even tried to get her off the board."
When our news crew approached the HOA president’s front door, she look through the screen of her door and told us she didn’t want to talk.
