UPDATE: 13 Action News is getting results for a valley neighborhood worried about squatters. They said an old commercial building had been taken over by squatters, but now it's gone.
People near Sunset Road and Whitney Ranch Drive said the vacant building was a magnet for squatters.
"I figured, we gotta get this torn down," said Terry Kniess, who has lived in the nearby neighborhood for many years. "It was a safety hazard."
Kniess first called 13 Action News back in August to let us know about the issue.
"My thought is, just tear the doggone thing down and get it over with and eliminate the squatter problem," he said back in August.
And that is exactly what happened.
"Three weeks after the story aired they brought in a company and were tearing out the trees and the beyond that, they taped it off very quickly, brought in the heavy-duty equipment," said Kniess.
Back in August we called the company trying to sell the property and they said they would have it torn down by the end of the year, but it happened much sooner than expected.
"A lot of the neighbors applauded that you came out and followed up on it, and of course you called and I think that made all the difference in the world," Kniess said.
ORIGINAL STORY
HENDERSON (KTNV) -- Behind the plywood and the broken glass, people near Sunset Road and Whitney Ranch Drive found squatters in an old business complex.
Terry Kniess said the building on the northwest corner used to be a business building, housing a physical therapy office and a AAA.
Now, he said it's home to squatters.
"We've been here 20 years and we don't want to see the neighborhood go downhill," said Kniess of his Henderson home.
Kniess said the building has been vacant for some time, but it's more recently become home to some unwelcome visitors.
"Whoever has it went back and put the plywood back in, but to the best of my knowledge they haven't got the squatters out," he said.
Luis Negrete lived in the apartments right next door for the past six years.
"It makes me think what's going on at night, especially at night," Negrete said. "And now and then I do hear some weird noises."
Henderson police said they had two calls for vandalism, but none for squatting.
CBRE, the company trying to sell the property, said the owner is out of the country and his representative is in the hospital, so they could not give us a comment.
However, they said the building is slated to be demolished before the end of the year.
