Man fixing up North Bower home finds squatter inside
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Law Enforcement converged on this row of homes on North Bower Street on Feb. 26, 2023.
SHENANDOAH – A man purchased a home on North Bower Street from a tax sale about a year ago to renovate. Sunday afternoon, the man arrived to find a squatter inside the home.
Law enforcement from multiple northern Schuylkill communities converged on the 200 block of North Bower Street Friday after that property owner, Jhony Cortes, called police. Cortes owns 223 North Bower.
Cortes said he visited the property Sunday to continue work on the home and found a woman asleep inside. He retreated and called police.
State Police, along with officers from Mahanoy City, Frackville, Mahanoy Township, and West Mahanoy Township, converged on the home and searched it and the adjoining homes in the dilapidated row.
Holes were created in the walls between the homes, allowing trespassers to freely move between them.
Troopers at the scene told the Sentinel they found a woman inside, who was taken into custody and is facing charges.
Troopers said further information would be in a forthcoming news release.
Law enforcement cleared the scene around 8pm. The 200 block of North Bower was closed during the incident.
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