Deputies make quick arrests of squatters
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 12, 2015 1:46 PM
Workers in a service truck approaching a Rosewood residence to do some last-minute repairs before turning the house over to be rented Wednesday afternoon noticed a man running from the property and called 911.
Wayne County Sheriff's Office deputies responded within minutes and detained four suspects.
"Their response time was spectacular," Gwen Denning said. "They have restored my faith in their department," she added.
Mrs. Denning's family owns and operates Bobby Denning Furniture and Bobby Denning Realty, both in Mount Olive.
The home they purchased, 1944 Rosewood Road, is scheduled for tenants to move in next week. On Wednesday, however, instead of making some last-minute adjustments, Mrs. Denning's service crew found four subjects had been squatting in the residence.
"We arrested three, (another) one of them is a juvenile," Maj. Tom Effler said.
Juvenile petitions will be obtained on the juvenile, according to a press release.
The oldest of the suspects, Devon Chaves Elder, 20, 315 Olivia Lane, is listed as the boyfriend of the 15-year-old girl found in the house with him.
The girl's family lives next door to the vacant house, according to the report. The juvenile and Elder, who had been kicked out of his own home on Olivia Lane, went into the vacant house two days ago to escape the heat and the rain, the report said. Elder's cousin, Trayvonne Alexander Cannon, 17, and friend, Isaiah Allen McClain, 16, were also in the house.
Elder, Brown and McClain were each charged as adults. Elder is being held in the Wayne County Detention Center on charges of breaking and entering and resisting an officer. His bond was set at $1,000 secured. Cannon, arrested on the same charges, saw his bond set at $1,500. And McClain, charged only with resisting, had his bond set at $500 secured.
Mrs. Denning said she has a renewed respect for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
"They take a really big beating sometimes because we don't all get what we want," she said.
Nothing was taken from the residence.
"We could not have asked for a better result," Mrs. Denning said.