The alleged squatter accused of terrorizing a Queens homeowner had his criminal case adjourned until July during a Monday court hearing.
Brian Rodriguez, 35, returned to Queens Criminal Court on the morning of May 13 with a baseball hat pulled down over a masked face complete with black sunglasses. According to a source close to Rodriguez, the alleged squatter was attempting to avoid press cameras after he received a string of threats following a story that, for many, has exemplified the issue of squatting in the Big Apple.
Rodriguez was cuffed in April for allegedly squatting at a ritzy Flushing home for months; the case made headlines as the feud between Rodriguez and the property’s owner, Adele Andaloro, spiraled into the public eye.
ABC7 caught the moment police arrested Andaloro in her own home after she changed the locks in an attempt to keep Rodriguez out. “I’m really fearful that these people are going to get away with stealing my home,” Andaloro told ABC.
This all unfolded when Rodriguez was seen on video barging through the front door, claiming rights to remain in the house Andaloro had apparently inherited. The charges against Andaloro were later dropped and the Queens District Attorney’s office then set their sights on Rodriguez.
Things took an even stranger turn when Rodriguez and his attorney looked to turn the tables, claiming that Rodriguez had signed a fake lease and was the real victim. However, sources familiar with the situation told amNewYork Metro that Rodriguez has, as of yet, been unable to provide proof of the lease; instead, he only submitted receipts that showed he lived at the residence.
The Queens case led to significant legal changes last month in Albany that weakened squatters’ rights statewide.
Rodriguez appeared before a Queens judge on Monday, during which both sides agreed to take at least another month to provide more evidence on the matter, adjourning the proceedings until July 1.
Rodriguez left the courthouse clinging to his mother’s arm, speaking in Spanish to the senior, who walked with a cane. He refused to answer amNewYork Metro’s questions before he climbed into a car, and zoomed away.
This squatting horror story came on the heels of the Kips Bay murder of 52-year-old Nadia Vitels, who was allegedly ambushed by two alleged squatters: Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensly Alston, 18.
Vitels had arrived to sort out affairs at the apartment after her mother died when she was brutally killed and stuffed into a duffel bag inside a closet, only to be later discovered by her son.
Tejada and Alston were later arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with second-degree murder.
