Alleged squatters take advantage of elderly couple

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The family of a local couple in their 70s are alleging that a homeless woman, her son, and her boyfriend are taking advantage of a man who is suffering from dementia.

According to a GoFundMe, William and Arlene Towns have lived in their home for 50 years.

The daughter of the elderly couple said that her parents no longer feel safe to live in their home, and said the woman who moved in is taking advantage of William, who suffers from dementia.

“Our dad is extremely uncomfortable having these people and their associates in his home and is fearful of his safety when at the house,” William’s daughter wrote on GoFundMe. “He no longer feels he can safely be at his home of over 50 years and has been forced to stay with us.

William’s loved ones say the alleged squatters are “racking up utility bills” the couple cannot afford.

It all began when William Towns went for a stroll and decided to offer a woman in need a helping hand.

“Our father was walking his dog through the neighborhood and came across a woman living out of her car, and he makes conversation with anyone…. he learned her story, that she was living out of her car and that she needed a place to stay for a few nights while she was getting her car fixed,” said Alicia Jordan, the Towns’ daughter.

However, a few nights turned into a few months, and since then the woman has invited her 15-year-old son and her boyfriend to live there too.

“He’s very confrontational, threatening, he’s just kind of scary guy to be around, and so very quickly, our father just started to feel very unsafe in his home,” said Jordan.

After three weeks of living with the alleged squatters, Jordan and her sister Christy Waillas returned to get their father and asked the intruders to leave.

“They’ve grown drugs in the living room, and there’s other drug activity including underage marijuana use,” said Waillas.

The famiy also set up cameras, which have sine been taken down by the unwelcome guests.

After watching surviellance footage and seeing the state of their property, the family worries for their safety to return for their valuables.

“We have a basement full of boxes of our childhood memories, and our family’s pictures are on the walls. They just go through drawers and cabinets and cupboards, and we hear them rustling through boxes in the basement,” added Jordan.

The two sisters are working to get the indruders evicted.

“Really the first step is to provide written notice to the tenants that you expect them to leave. It can come in the form of posting something in a communal space. I mean, especially in a situation with William and Arlene, where they apparently are living with their unwanted houseguests,” said Attorney David McDivitt with McDivitt Law.

However, since William openly offered his home to the woman, the process is growing difficult.

“I think what we have here is a landlord tenant relationship and the fact that this woman perhaps manipulated William, whether it was due to his dementia or whatever the reason that he was manipulated, she’s a tenant under the law, then she has certain rights now,” added McDivitt.

The Colorado Springs Police Department said that since the alleged squatters were invited inside, it is not trespassing, and that evictions are handled by the Sheriff’s Office, but the case will likely require a court order, judge’s decision, and enforcement by El Paso County.

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