FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Three Flagler County residents were arrested after deputies said they were found illegally squatting in a Palm Coast house Wednesday.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a home off Wellstone Drive around 7 p.m. after a neighbor reported seeing people inside the home with flashlights.
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Investigators said when they arrived at the home, they found a broken window and another in the living room open with the exterior screen missing.
Deputies said they found Manuel Laires, Marvin Rivera-Rodriguez and Evan Villanueva inside the home.
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Laires told deputies he thought he owned the property after he paid $10,000 to settle a tax lien on the property and that Rodriguez and Villanueva were there to help with repairs.
According to the sheriff’s office, the owners of the property live in England and had purchased the property as a future retirement home.
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Deputies estimated there was at least $2,000 of damage to the home’s breaker box, window and ceiling.
All three suspects were arrested on charges of burglary of a dwelling and criminal mischief over $1,000 and booked into the Flagler County jail on $3,500 bond each.
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