Condemned Property Causing Squatters In Tulsa

People living near a condemned property said they’re fed up with squatters causing a nuisance. 

Businesses also said they’re seeing a lot of thefts and break-ins. Business owners and residents near 16th and Memorial said the people are constantly stealing from them and they don’t know what to do.

Hidden behind some trees near 16th and Memorial is a condemned house, and people squatting in and behind it

“Over in these woods, we started noticing people were gathering, hanging out,” said Tracy Mosley with Warren’s Complete Car Care Center. “Homeless people, it's just gotten worse every week."

Tracy Mosley works right next to the property. He said over the past several months, they've noticed several thefts and car break-ins.

“It's terrible when you come in the morning and find you got wheels stolen,” he said. “I had a car sitting out here and a customer came to pick it up, and I didn't know it had got broken into."

Mosley said they have had to take extra security measures.

“We try to make sure the cars are secure,” he said. “We park them up front, we put them close together, so they cant get them.”

He said many other businesses have reported thefts and break-ins too from the people living near the condemned property. People who live at an apartment complex nearby said they're scared because the squatters have previously posed a threat.

“they go in between the building, the laundromat, in the dumpsters, it’s terrible,” said Charmagne Davis who lives nearby. 

Police have been called out several times, and Mosley says they'll run them off, but they always come back.

“I would just like for it to go away, so we can continue on and help people out and fix their cars,” Mosley said.

Police said they are aware of the encampments and try to make arrests, especially when people living nearby are put in danger.