SAN DIEGO, CA- According to police, a “squatter” has been arrested after trying to steal the home of a man who has been in the hospital, thanks to neighbors in the Clairemont neighborhood who spoke up to protect a family they hardly knew.
As officers escorted the suspect, identified as Jeffrey Goddard, to a patrol car in handcuffs, he said to a group of neighbors:
“It’s alright. I’ll be back.”
Days earlier, neighbors said that Goddard told them he “deserves” to live in the Clairemont house where he had spent nearly every night for more than a week. But, the thing is, he did not buy the house nor was he renting it.
Squatter Tries to Steal Home From Elderly Father in Hospital After CO Leak Kills Daughter https://t.co/MZ1F8cFcE7
— NativeTaino 🌈♑🇺🇸🇵🇷 (@NativeTainoPR) January 19, 2022
Goddard reportedly told officers that he saw the house on the news in December 2021, after carbon monoxide poisoning sent 84-year-old homeowner, John Marrs to the hospital.
Marrs had been hospitalized after being found disoriented in the garage with a car running. The homeowner’s adult daughter, 52-year-old Lisa Marrs, was later found inside the home dead.
Within what appears to be weeks, even days, neighbors said that they watched Goddard change the locks, replace the door and even receive Amazon packages. Kathy, one of the neighbors, said to NBC 7:
“The gentleman [homeowner] is still alive. There should be no reason that this person should be allowed in this house.”
When Kathy and other neighbors confronter Goddard, they said he claimed squatter’s rights. The family of the home also learned that Goddard paid the property taxes on the home and changed the utilities into his name. Another neighbor, named Trudy, said:
“We all feel vulnerable and unsettled because you never imagine anything like this.”
Kathy added:
“The whole neighborhood believes that we need to help [the homeowner]. We didn’t know him, but we need to help him.”
‘Squatter’ Arrested After Trying to Steal Hospitalized Man’s Clairemont Home – NBC 7 San Diego https://t.co/ObvhtnEPD7
— SD Criminal Justice (@SDCrimJustice) January 19, 2022
Neighbors reportedly contacted the homeowner’s closest living relative, his niece April Todd, who lives in Texas.
Todd said that she could not believe a complete stranger could literally change locks, pay her uncle’s property taxes or switch the name on the utility bills.
She hopes that lawmakers take note her her uncle’s story and make the laws tougher on squatters. She added:
“It’s been a living nightmare. I couldn’t sleep. I would just close my eyes and I would just see this guy in my uncle’s house.”
Neighbors said they couldn’t sleep either. Many of them reportedly took videos of Goddard coming and going, and noted his routine and whereabouts to police.
They feel that their efforts have paid off. Bills paid or not, police arrested Goddard for a slew of charges including burglary, theft of an elderly adult, and identity theft.
As of Monday, January 17th, Goddard was still being held at the San Diego County Jail and was set to be arraigned on Tuesday, January 18th.
According to iProperty Management, squatter’s can legally file for ownership of a property after residing in it for five years in California, which has one of the shortest thresholds for squatter’s rights in the U.S. Those five years must involve continuous use and maintenance of the property.
San Diego resident fatally shoots home invader – five accomplices charged with murder
November 16th, 2021
SAN DIEGO, CA – A San Diego resident shot and killed a man during a home invasion early Wednesday, and a group suspected of carrying out the robbery was arrested a short time later.
https://twitter.com/RedVoiceMedias/status/1460360918152351746
The shooting in the 300 block of Moonstone Bay Drive, near Libby Lake Park, took place at about 1:15 a.m. on November 10, according to the Oceanside Police Department.
Police say the group, at least one of whom was armed with a gun, broke into the home and encountered the homeowner. Armed with his own firearm, the homeowner exchanged fire on the intruders.
Oceanside Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Atenza said:
“The resident reached for the firearm and then shots were fired. We know that at least one of the suspects was armed and returned fire.”
California Resident Shoots Dead Man Carrying Out Home Invasion Robbery: Police https://t.co/xwc5UVhq55 Good for Homeowner – defending himself and his property.
— Geoffrey Damon (@gdamon1806) November 12, 2021
One intruder was struck by gunfire and collapsed at the scene. The other suspects fled the scene.
Officers responding to reports of gunfire arrived to find a 31-year-old suspect mortally wounded in the residence, Atenza said. The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, died at the scene.
Officers in the area of the shooting stopped a suspicious vehicle and detained five occupants, including 29-year-old Deshawn Ingram, who was suffering from a gunshot wound.
Ingram was transported to an area hospital where he was admitted in stable condition. Atenza said the nature of the gunshot wound was being investigated:
“It is unknown at this time if the (home-invasion victim) shot the… suspect who is currently in the hospital, or if this suspect was shot by one of the other suspects, who were also armed with a gun.”
Each of the suspects has been charged with robbery and murder.
Even though no one in the group is suspected of shooting the man who died at the home, the San Diego County District Attorney’s office was pursuing the murder charges because he died in commission of a felony that the group engaged in, OPD spokesperson Jennifer Atenza explained.
San Diego County resident fatally shoots intruder during home invasion
https://t.co/W2L3LPjkKF— News SummedUp Kenya (@summedupkenya) November 14, 2021
The other suspects charged in the case are 21-year-old Eric Dunnigan, 21-year-old Michael Simmons, 24-year-old Jaylen Harvey, and 25-year-old Sydni Tucker.
Police said Ingram, who was recently convicted of assault with a firearm and was out on bond and awaiting sentencing at the time of the shooting, will be charged when his condition permits.
The homeowner was not injured during the home invasion. Police said there would be no charges against the homeowner for the shooting.
Atenza asked anyone with information about the crime to contact Detective Ryan Malone at 760-435-4537 or the agency’s anonymous tip line at 760-435-4730.
Editor note: In 2020, we saw a nationwide push to “defund the police”. While we all stood here shaking our heads wondering if these people were serious… they cut billions of dollars in funding for police officers. And as a result, crime has skyrocketed – all while the same politicians who said “you don’t need guns, the government will protect you” continued their attacks on both our police officers and our Second Amendment rights.
And that’s exactly why we’re launching this national crowdfunding campaign as part of our efforts to help “re-fund the police”.
For those looking for a quick link to get in the fight and support the cause, click here.
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Here it comes: San Diego may lose 500 police officers due to walkout over mandates
November 1, 2021
SAN DIEGO, CA – According to a report by an activist fighting for freedom and against vaccine mandates, San Diego faces a walkout of 500 police officers who are supporting the right to choose whether or not to be vaccinated.
Amy Reichert, co-founder of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit ReOpen San Diego, shared this information with host Jason Austell on the October 31, 2021 edition of KUSI’s Good Morning San Diego.
ReOpen San Diego, founded in 2020, describes itself on its website as “committed to defending the natural rights of every resident of San Diego County, so that we all may pursue life, liberty, and happiness.”
The organization also asserts:
“Every citizen and every family in San Diego County is entitled to make their own decisions about their personal health and wellbeing.
“The government does not have the authority to arbitrarily decide which businesses or livelihoods are essential or not.”
Reichert told Austell on the program:
“We actually have 500 San Diego police officers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, who are saying to Mayor Todd Gloria, that if you want to fire our unvaccinated brothers and sisters, then, you know what, we’re going too.”
This stance is reportedly in response to San Diego County’s policies on mandated vaccines for county employees.
Starting in August 2021, according to NBC San Diego, San Diego County began requiring county employees either to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or to undergo weekly testing for the virus.
The County will begin requiring its employees to verify COVID-19 vaccination or undergo regular testing. Details being worked out but implementation expected by mid-August. Vaccination is the key to fully and safely reopening the economy.
— SanDiegoCounty (@SanDiegoCounty) July 30, 2021
County public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten stated in regards to this mandate:
“This is turning into the pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
She added:
“The more contagious Delta variant is on the rise and being fully vaccinated affords the best protection against the disease.”
Later, in early October, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for new county employee hires.
Supervisor Joel Anderson, who dissented, explained his position by pointing out the differences between the treatment of new hires and current county employees, saying:
“The County has provided current staff the ability to opt-out of COVID-19 vaccination through weekly testing and masking requirements and new hires should have the same choice and rights afforded to our current workers.
“My worry is that we will lose out on qualified, talented people due to their personal rights being violated.”
Supervisor Jim Desmond, who also dissented, tweeted:
“Just now, I voted against requiring vaccines for all new hires to the County of San Diego.
“I’ve gotten vaccinated, but if you don’t want to, I’ll fight for your rights too.”
Just now, I voted against requiring vaccines for all new hires to the County of San Diego. I've gotten vaccinated, but if you don't want to, I'll fight for your rights too. pic.twitter.com/HvY4GR1Gt7
— Supervisor Jim Desmond (@jim_desmond) October 6, 2021
A County Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 2, and it has a time slot for further discussion and public input on the vaccination requirements for new hires.
Reichert pointed out that the mandate for new hires amounts to discrimination, saying:
“There is a COVID agenda item on there, and worst of all, what they are going to be voting on again is whether or not to discriminate against people who are not vaccinated as new hires.
“That means if you’re not vaccinated and you want to be a librarian, or if you want to be a Sheriff’s Deputy, or you want to be a Park Ranger, they are not going to even hire you.”
She continued:
“And for existing employees? Well, your career could be over. You won’t even be able to transfer to another department.”
Reichert added that ReOpen San Diego will be at the meeting, “out in force, to speak up for our rights,” and she encouraged the public to attend as well.
There is great potential for there to be a long list of concerned speakers at this meeting, in light of the attendance at a previous meeting on this topic. Good Morning San Diego host Jason Austell pointed out that at that prior meeting, the public input and debate lasted on the order of 15 hours.
Reichert added that ReOpen San Diego will be featuring experts on the subject of vaccines and vaccine mandates, explaining:
“You see, the government has their own experts to debunk misinformation, so we have our own experts.
“We have data experts. We have MD’s. We have scientists.
“They will be speaking too.”
Reflecting on her report that San Diego may lose 500 police officers in a walkout over the mandates, she added:
“What we are seeing is not only people standing up for their rights and saying, you know what, I don’t want this for my body, but people are standing up who have been vaccinated.
“They are like, this is wrong. People shouldn’t be discriminated against. Or shamed. Or bullied. Enough is enough.”
Spouses and family members of San Diego firefighters, lifeguards and police officers show up with signs and their message of support for city workers against the city of San Diego vaccine mandate to go in effect December 1. Nearly 200 firefighter boots laid out on ground @CBS8 pic.twitter.com/K154FKACtK
— Heather HOPE (@HopeNEWS8) October 22, 2021
Police and firefighters, and their families, spoke out against the vaccine mandates in San Diego at a “Protecting the Protectors” rally hosted by ReOpen San Diego on October 23.
Peaceful protestors held signs that read “Stop the mandates” and “Please don’t fire my daddy.”
Nearly 200 pairs of police officers’ and firefighters’ boots were displayed, representing the first responders who would be gone if the city fires them.
Reichert reported from the rally:
“I’ve had officers tell me that no one in SDPD has died or have been hospitalized due to COVID.
“They are just asking when it comes to this issue for it to be their own personal decision, and if we lose them, we are going to lose a lot.”
According to CBS8, San Diego’s vaccine mandate officially goes into effect on December 1, having been pushed forward from November 1.
Time will tell whether San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors, and San Diego’s City Council and Mayor Todd Gloria, will respond favorably to the pushback against the vaccine mandate as the deadline looms.
However, a recent statement from Gloria after the Protect the Protectors Rally appears to suggest that the potential loss of emergency responders is a smaller issue to him than that of enforcing mandates.
He said:
“We continue to meet and confer with our recognized employee organizations on how to manage our unvaccinated employees.
“The city has a responsibility to protect our employees and the members of the public with whom they regularly interact.
“The health and welfare of the public and our employees outweigh any temporary staffing issues.”
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