BARTLETT, TN (abc24.com) - Another squatter was hauled out of an expensive Mid-South home. A Bartlett man is in jail after he was caught taking a shower in a home owned by a bank.
The home has four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a pool house and more than an acre of land. According to a neighbor, Christopher Chalmers' parents were evicted from the home but Chalmers remained a frequent visitor to the bank-owned property.
"I saw him last year in June, I reported to Bartlett that the yard was a mess. I met the code enforcement over there and his car was there," the neighbor said.
He hadn't been since, until Sunday when he left the house in handcuffs.
"I think it was about 5 or 6 officers, it was a suspicious situation; I saw them carry shot guns up the driveway."
The call came to police when the couple buying the house was doing a final walk-through of the property. A K-9 found him in the back of a closet. According to police, he resisted arrest.
"He was in there taking a shower," the neighbor said. "They found his clothes - he'd been there, it looks like for a long time."
Neighbors followed the east Memphis squatter situation closely, when a Moorish American claimed a $3 million bank-owned property.
"I'd seen that but it didn't dawn on me, this house might have a sitter. People go in and out of this house since it was vacated - they fixed it up, they spent a lot of money on it."
Another for sale sign sits in the yard across the street, another home neighbors never thought of until now.
"We'll keep an eye on that house for sure. It's been for sale for quite some time."
The buyers still plan to keep the house.
Chalmers is charged with vandalism under $500, criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. He could also face civil charges from the property owner.
