NORTH MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman came to check on her rental property to find a mess that wasn’t hers, and police said the reason behind it was an uninvited guest who was taken into custody.
Shocking cellphone video footage captured the moments Miami-Dade Police officers confronted a man living inside a Kristina Santa’s vacant property in North Miami-Dade, turning a routine property check into a disturbing discovery.
In the video, an officer can be heard instructing the man to “get on the ground, get on the [expletive] ground,” after police responded to a call from homeowner Kristina Santa.
Speaking with 7News on Thursday, Santa said she grew suspicious after finding her rental property in disarray following a business trip earlier this week.
“I didn’t do anything about it then; I was like maybe it was one of the workers or something at the house, because I have construction going on,” she said.
Upon returning the next day, Santa said, she found door unlocked and a Vitamin Water bottle on the counter that wasn’t there before, prompting her to call police.
“I look in, and I see a Vitamin Water on the counter right there that was not there the day before, so I knew that from the time I was there the day before to then, somebody had been in the house,” she said.
Police arrived at the property to find a man upstairs who, they said, has been living inside the home.
“I feel like maybe, if I had gone up there by myself, he might have been a little more aggressive,” said Santa.
Officers removed the man, identified as 27-year-old Raequon Denziel Cephus, as well as some of his belongings. He was charged with trespassing on the property.
The house was left resembling a disaster zone, with items scattered all around including tobacco, toothpaste, dirty socks on the bathroom floor and even Fiji water taken from the fridge.
“It was very surreal realizing that somebody was actually in my space,” said Santa. “I don’t know; it’s a scary feeling.”
The homeowner, now questioning how the intruder gained access, speculates a possible oversight with the property’s security.
“Maybe somebody left a door open one night, and they just happened to see it, and they changed the lock out, ’cause I don’t have a key that fits that lock, and I used to,” she said.
Taking precautionary measures, Santa said, she plans to enhance the property’s security, including installing surveillance cameras.
“I didn’t think that I had to have security cameras on a completely empty house, but you learn something every day, right?” said Santa.
Santa was not hurt. She said construction will continue, and then someone who is supposing to live inside the property will move in.
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