Serial squatter is trying to SELL victim’s house after breaking in and occupying it for second time just months after he was evicted – and cops are refusing to help
A Louisiana man is trying to regain control of his home after serial squatters moved in twice and put the property on the market.
Richard Craven and his wife Kristen inherited the four-bedroom, 3,200-square-foot ranch-style home in Baton Rouge in 2022.
It was vacant for several months, but then Joseph Guerin and Jennifer Chapman moved in.
The pair were deported by the police in April this year, but released on September 4 and withdrawn on September 5.
“The neighbor next door who has lived there for quite a few years – we’ve been there since 84 – texted me this morning,” Craven told KBRZ.
“And she said, ‘You’ve got company there. That Joey guy is back.”
Richard Craven (left) inherited the house last year: Joseph Guerin, a serial squatter, moved in and was arrested in April. He was released from jail on Monday and moved back into Craven’s home on Tuesday
Craven inherited this four-bedroom white brick house and planned to sell it
Craven has since discovered that when Guerin was released from prison, he had listed the address of Craven’s home as his own.
Additionally, Guerin filed paperwork tying him to the property, so police told Craven they couldn’t help and said it was a civil dispute over property.
“The police won’t let me see what papers he has,” Craven said.
“I told them whatever he has must be counterfeit.
“I will not allow a criminal to enter the house and take control. It’s that simple. So it’s more than just gaining control. He goes. He goes.’
The Cravens first came across Guerin several months after inheriting the house, driving by and seeing a dumpster in the driveway.
“We were checking it out and it was being looted. Everything was thrown away,” Craven said.
“We didn’t confront him, we just looked and then I saw all the traffic.”
Guerin had the locks changed and the utilities transferred to his name.
He put the property on the market for $225,000, describing it as a “beautiful home” with plenty of room for a large family and a pool to “beat the heat.”
The property was for sale for a day before Craven noticed and had it removed. The listing will remain online, but will be marked as ‘off market’.
Guerin and Chapman were arrested for unauthorized entry, and Craven learned that Guerin was arrested last year on similar charges and had to post $5,000 bail.
Guerin had transformed the house by painting wood with a solid matte black and even painting a window black.
The carpet had been removed and tile floors and new countertops had been installed.
Some areas were painted white and in one room graffiti covered the walls.
One of the upstairs bathrooms has been destroyed and there are holes in the walls and missing parts of the ceiling.
Craven said the work Guerin had done was of poor quality and had to be ripped out and started over.
“The house needed some work, but now it needs everything,” Craven said.
Murphy J. Paul Jr., chief of the Baton Rouge Police Department, did not comment. Police told Craven they could not intervene in a civil dispute because Guerin had his name on some utilities
Craven also found drug paraphernalia and empty liquor bottles left behind, he told KBRZ.
“Drug use, drug dealing, I don’t know if he rented rooms to women,” Craven said.
On September 4, Guerin was released from prison.
And on September 5 he was back at home.
“He got in there,” Craven said.
“He saw it was empty and decided to sell it for cash. And he almost succeeded.’
With the Baton Rouge Police Department unwilling to get involved, Craven isn’t sure what his next steps will be, but he’s confident Guerin will have to move.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy J. Paul Jr. did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.