Residents of a quaint Oregon condominium complex shockingly discovered a man living inside a crawl space at the residences for an unknown, but extended amount of time, according to cops and photos of his makeshift abode.
Beniamin Bucur, 40, found a way into an in-between storage space at a condo complex near Happy Valley, roughly 15 miles outside of Portland, and brought in lights, furniture, TVs and even an Xbox to create his own tricked-out home, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
The disturbing discovery was made on Wednesday by sheriff deputies who responded to a late-night call from the condos, in which a resident reported seeing a strange man park his car and meander behind one of the buildings.
The caller said they noticed that the door to a crawl space was left open and that there was a light coming from inside — which shouldn’t have been possible as there was no power, the homeowner told authorities when they arrived.
The resident admitted to hearing strange noises coming from the crawl space in the past, but had never investigated, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies wound up having to force their way into the crawl space and found Bucur inside, surrounded by furnishings he allegedly stole over time, including a bed, televisions, chargers, and other electronics sapping power from the home, the office said.
Other items visible in photos taken by sheriff deputies included an Xbox controller, an electric fan, and a worn camping chair.
Officials said that Bucar “had taken significant steps to improve the conditions” inside the homey crawl space and was “obviously living inside.”
He was charged with burglary in the first degree and, later, unlawful possession of methamphetamine after police confiscated a “pipe with white residue” at his makeshift residence.
Bucar was forced to swap his crawl space casa for a cell inside the Clackamas County Jail, where he is being held on a $75,000 bond.
A woman who claimed to share a 5-year-old daughter with Bucar apologized on his behalf and wrote that “jail and probation is the only thing that keeps him clean,” according to a Facebook post.
Some commenters, though, were floored by Bucar’s apparent ingenuity — even at the expense of someone else’s electric bill.
“I mean, minus the meth this is actually pretty smart way to get off the street,” one person commented.
“That would be $1200/mo if it wasn’t somebody’s crawl space. That’s pretty ingenious,” another added.
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