Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Vernon Glass and Lusascha Taylor have been indicted on charges of burglary, grand larceny and criminal trespass for illegally occupying a vacant Bayside home for more than two years. The prior owner of the home died in 2018 without heirs or a will.

District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, these defendants took possession of an unoccupied home without permission and lived there for more than two years. You simply cannot move into a home without permission and claim you have a right to stay – even if the property is vacant and the owner is deceased. The defendants have been removed from the property, and the home has been secured to prevent their return. They will now face justice in our court system.”

Glass, 41, and Taylor, 41, were arraigned yesterday on a three-count indictment charging them with burglary in the second degree, grand larceny in the second degree and criminal trespass in the second degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice David Kirschner ordered the defendants to return to court October 1. If convicted of the top charge, Glass and Taylor face a potential maximum of 15 years in prison.

DA Katz said that, according to the indictment and investigation, a house on 205^th Street in Bayside was unoccupied after the owner died in 2018 and did not leave a will or have any heirs. He had entered into a reverse mortgage contract on the property with a finance company prior to his death and a lien was placed against the property by the company after the man passed away.

The Public Administrator was declared the lawful custodian of the home in May pursuant to a ruling in Queens County Surrogate’s Court.

The DA’s office conducted an investigation after receiving reports that squatters had taken over the residence.

Surveillance by the DA’s office of the home indicated that Glass and Taylor were coming and going from the property. Neighbors indicated the couple had been living there for approximately two and half years.

Glass and Taylor are both alleged to have gone so far as listing the property’s address on their driver’s licenses.

The defendants were arrested at the home yesterday and the house was padlocked.

Assistant District Attorney Jessica Coalter of the District Attorney’s Housing, Worker and Consumer Protection Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of William Jorgenson, Bureau Chief, Christina Hanophy, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Joseph T. Conley III.