BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Robert “Bobby” Williams knew something was wrong the moment he turned onto the 2900 block of McElderry Street.
His vacant East Baltimore rowhome, sitting blocks from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Elwood Park, was supposed to be vacant. But as he drove past, he saw a neon flicker dancing in an upstairs window.
I seen lights on and I just knew what that meant,” Williams said. “I knew the property was empty, and I knew that didn’t send any realtor, any contractors, no one over to the property, so I knew someone was in there.
A Baltimore squatter was caught by a property owner with a newly assembled bed, women’s lingerie, and a flashing headboard before he removed her. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
What Williams found inside wasn’t just a trespasser. It was a makeshift bedroom in the master suite, with flashing, “disco” lights affixed to the headboard and lingerie sprawled across the space.
His discovery highlights a growing frustration among Maryland property owners who argue that, despite recent legislative crackdowns on fraudulent leases, squatting remains an escalating threat to small-scale investors.
For Williams, a property manager who has spent a decade building his businesses from handyman work into a full-time career, the incident was another sign that the problem is evolving.
“Squatting is becoming an organized crime now,” Williams said.
The confrontation, which Williams recorded and later posted on Instagram, shows a tense exchange in which he ordered the occupant to leave.
The night Williams discovered the suspected squatter, his Instagram video showed him ordering the person out of the house.
You got the bed set up?” Williams said in the video. “Come on, let’s go.
In the video, a woman appeared to suggest she needed to leave items behind “for the other girls.”
Williams refused.
“I don’t give a[expletive]about those other girls,” he said. “Let’s go right now.”
A Baltimore squatter was caught by a property owner with a newly assembled bed, women’s lingerie, and a flashing headboard before he removed her. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
In the video, Williams directed the person toward the front door.
“Adios,” he said. “Tell your friends New Jack Bobby. Don’t[expletive]play with my properties.”
ALSO READ | Convicted squatter released, returns to $2.3M Bethesda home as neighbors fear ‘violence’
Williams said he understands why some property owners call the police and wait for the legal process to take its course, but after what he has repeatedly experienced, he believes Maryland must move faster when vacant homes are broken into and occupied.
The cost of a takeover, he said, goes far beyond a broken window. It means months of lost rent, expensive renovations and the recurring fear that his remaining properties are vulnerable.
The scene left behind in the McElderry Street home painted a grim picture. Beyond the flashing lights, the house was marred by the remnants of what appeared to be heavy drug use. A vanity was covered in apparent heroin capsules and used needles, and the room smelled of urine.
Williams, who intentionally keeps his properties clear of window coverings to monitor them during his daily rounds, said he realizes that many owners board up their vacant homes. He avoids it, preferring to maintain clear sightlines.
ALSO READ | After Spotlight on Maryland exposed squatting problem, state lawmakers act
In this case, the light provided the exact warning he needed.
Maybe had that light not been on, and they changed where the bed was at, I might not have noticed if they were here,” Williams said.
Now, he said, he is left to clean it out.
Inside what was a vacant Maryland property, a squatter took over the property and left behind a vanity covered with used needles, heroin capsules, and human bile. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
After the incident, Williams walked Spotlight on Maryland through the home and pointed to the area where he believed the person had entered.
“I know for a fact that they gained access through this back window,” he said.
Asked whether the window had been broken, Williams answered, “Yup. They busted out the window. Came through and started living.”
ALSO READ | Md. home sale halted as alleged squatters unload moving truck, demand cash for keys
The scene, Williams said, is the part of squatting rarely understood by people who assume property investors can absorb the damage.
They all think that,” Williams said. “But in reality, your average homeowner is just someone with a 9-to-5. A lot of these investors, the average one, probably makes between $90,000 to $150,000, and they’re using these rental properties just to survive, just like you and me.
“They’re not multimillionaires, per se, because they have a rental property,” he added.
Williams’ case is the latest in a series of squatting-related incidents documented by Spotlight on Maryland over the past year.
ALSO READ | Social media squatter network? Baltimore property manager and occupant come face-to-face
In Bethesda, a months-long standoff at a $2.3 million home helped push the issue into the State House.
In Baltimore, University of Maryland School of Medicine professor Ze Wang said he returned from winter break to find strangers inside his home and later estimated the damage at $80,000.
In East Baltimore’s Ramblewood neighborhood, police responded to a rowhome after a property manager said alleged squatters had changed the locks, removed a lockbox and moved into a vacant house. As officers stood outside, a Burger King order arrived through DoorDash.
Robert “Bobby” Williams, owner of Baltimore-based Cutting Edge Construction and New Jack Property Management and Maintenance, outside one of his houses in East Baltimore that was taken over by squatters. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
Those cases became part of a broader political debate over how quickly police and courts can respond when a property owner says someone has broken in, but the person inside claims a right to stay, sometimes by producing a lease the owner says is fraudulent.
In May, Gov. Wes Moore signed two bills aimed at Maryland’s squatting problem, including legislation targeting fraudulent leases and alleged online squatting rings.
Supporters of the legislation said the bills were designed to close gaps that left homeowners, landlords, and property managers trapped in slow-moving civil processes after alleged takeovers.
ALSO READ | Moore signs crackdown laws year after Spotlight on Maryland exposed squatter problem
But Williams said the new law does not resolve every case, especially when a suspected squatter enters through a broken window and does not necessarily present a lease.
Asked what he would say to lawmakers, Williams called for a more forceful response.
“My message to lawmakers would be to help,” Williams said. “Stop worrying about all of the wrong things. Stop trying to protect squatters.”
Have you experienced or had direct knowledge of squatting or unauthorized occupancy occurring in Maryland? Do you have any tips related to this story? Send news tips togmcollins@sbgtv.comor contact Spotlight on Maryland’s hotline at (410) 467-4670.
Follow Gary Collins on X and Instagram. Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.
Local Story
