Police arrested a naked man in the crawl space underneath the El Sereno, California, home of a 93-year-old woman Friday morning.
Los Angeles police said they spent hours trying to get the man out before having to resort to tear gas, causing a huge commotion in the neighborhood and forcing the people living inside the home to have to find somewhere else to sleep.
The unsettling incident took place after the woman and her family had reported hearing strange noises for weeks.
“It was usually late at night, and we just chucked it off to animals being under the house,” said Ricardo Silva, the woman’s son-in-law.
However, on Thursday night, Silva said the noise got louder.
“The noises were kind of like knocking. It was kind of like, as my wife was walking, they were kind of knocking back from under the house so she says, ‘You know something’s wrong,’” Silva said.
Family members at the home called the police immediately, and when officers arrived, they found a naked man in the crawl space.
The man was identified as 27-year-old Issac Betancourt.
“He refused to leave. He wasn’t scared of the dogs, and the first two attempts at gas didn’t fish him out,” Silva said.
Betancourt didn’t give up easily, according to police. After hours of refusing to come out, the Los Angeles Police Department said officers had to resort to tear gas to get him out.
It’s unclear how long Betancourt had been underneath the home, but the family suspects he may have been staying for up to six months.
The crawl space itself is only about 2 feet high and stretches under the entire home with three entryways. The family believes he used one to come and go.
“It’s a bizarre thing, but it’s not probably uncommon, you know. In this day and age, people are looking for shelter,” Silva said.
The family says they’ll be securing the crawl space to prevent this from happening ever again
Betancourt was arrested for trespassing, the LAPD said. It was unclear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.