Man arrested for allegedly living in crawl space of Oregon housing complex

A man in the US has been arrested for allegedly living in the crawl space of a property without the owner's permission.

Beniamin Bucur, 40, was found at an apartment complex in Clackamas, around 16 miles (26km) south of Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday night.

Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies investigated after a witness reported seeing a man who was not known to live in the complex parking his car and walking to the back of one of the buildings.

The door to the crawl space was open and light was coming from inside before the door was closed, the witness said.

Officers, who were tipped off shortly before 11pm, found the door to the crawl space was damaged and locked with an extension cord running through a vent.

No one should be there and there should be no lights on inside, the owner told deputies, adding that strange noises had been heard coming from the crawl space before.

After finding the owner's keys to the crawl space did not work, officers forced their way in.

Inside they found a man, identified as Bucur, who appeared to have taken "significant steps to improve the conditions of the crawl space and was obviously living inside", the sheriff's office said in a statement.

A bed, lights, chargers, TVs, and other electronic equipment were plugged into the home's power supply.

Deputies, who believe he had been living there for "an extended period of time", found a pipe with white residue that tested positive for methamphetamine.

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Bucur was charged with burglary and possessing methamphetamine at Clackamas County Jail on Thursday where his bail was set at $75,000 (£55,000).

(c) Sky News 2025: Man arrested for allegedly living in crawl space of Oregon housing complex