MIDDLE RIVER, Md. (WBFF) — A Baltimore County property owner spent much of the summer renovating a vacant Middle River house and preparing it for sale. Then, police say, a man with a history of “almost identical squatting situations” moved in.
The allegation has turned a dispute over the property on Armor Street into a broader question about Maryland’s struggle to stop unauthorized occupants from taking over vacant homes: How could someone police say has been connected to similar cases allegedly do it again?
A Baltimore County Police Department incident report obtained by Spotlight on Maryland identifies the occupant as 45-year-old Germarcco Dante Trayham. Police wrote that Trayham produced a lease but could not reach the people who allegedly provided it.
A house on Armor Street in Middle River, Md., outside of Baltimore, was taken over in mid-August 2026 by a squatter whom police have repeatedly found in properties in the area. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
The report also said Trayham “has been involved in almost identical squatting situations” at other vacant properties.
For neighbors Chuck Snyder and John Callick, the first indication that something was wrong came when they noticed activity at the recently renovated house. Both live across the street and have watched from their front porches and security cameras as the property dispute has unfolded.
The neighbors said they have repeatedly seen a man, woman and child coming and going from the house, including overnight, and a white Mercedes-Benz being driven into and out of the garage.
What got my attention was hearing all the commotion,” Snyder said. “I was like, what’s going on out there?”
Callick had watched the home’s owner renovate the previously foreclosed property for weeks. He said he even gave him weed-whacker string while the work was underway.
Then the house was listed for sale for more than $438,000. Soon afterward, Callick said he watched unfamiliar people move in.
A house on Armor Street in Middle River, Md., outside of Baltimore, was taken over in mid-August 2026 by a squatter whom police have repeatedly found in properties in the area. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
The property’s owner asked not to be identified because multiple of his properties have been taken over by alleged squatters, including a location Spotlight on Maryland reported on a year ago.
Within days of the new occupants moving in, Callick said, the owner and a real estate agent arrived.
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Snyder remembers the owner’s reaction more vividly.
“He started flipping out,” Snyder said. “We’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ And he’s like, people are living in the house.”
Baltimore County police arrived at the property during a real estate sale showing shortly before 4 p.m. on a rainy Aug. 20.
The related incident report obtained by Spotlight on Maryland shows officers identified the occupant as Trayham.
Baltimore County Police Case Report: Germarcco Dante TrayhamPDF preview
Baltimore County Police Case Report: Germarcco Dante Trayham – Suspicious Person/Squatting – August 20, 2026 (Baltimore County Police Department)
Callick said he spoke with officers and told them he knew the actual owner because he had watched him work on the house. He also recalled an encounter with the man inside.
The gentleman who is in the house now looked at me and I looked him in the eyes and he said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on here,’” Callick said.
Spotlight on Maryland asked if Callick believed him.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “Absolutely not for a second.”
Maryland court records reviewed by Spotlight on Maryland show Trayham has an extensive criminal history that includes armed robbery and theft convictions, along with handgun- and drug-related cases. He has also been convicted federally for possessing a handgun as a felon.
Spotlight on Maryland went to the Middle River property on Wednesday to seek Trayham’s account of the dispute.
A reporter repeatedly knocked on the main door and called out Trayham’s name. Spotlight on Maryland also went to the garage, where neighbors said occupants had been parking vehicles. No one answered.
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Unable to locate a working phone number for Trayham, Spotlight contacted his mother.
Moments later, while the news team was still outside the house, a man identifying himself as Trayham called.
Spotlight on Maryland’s investigative journalist Gary Collins attempted on August 27, 2026, to make contact with a squatter who police records show took over a Middle River, Md., house. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
Trayham initially agreed to speak off camera and said he would call again in 15 minutes to arrange an interview.
He called back but declined to answer questions. Trayham also said he was not home.
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Minutes after the news crew left, a neighbor sent Spotlight a photograph showing a white Mercedes pulling out of the home’s garage.
For Callick, the dispute has changed life on the block.
“My head is on a swivel,” the military veteran said. “I’m watching across the street to see what is going on constantly.”
The Middle River dispute comes as Maryland prepares to implement a new law targeting one of the tools that have repeatedly surfaced in squatting disputes: allegedly fraudulent leases.
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Spotlight previously documented the case of University of Maryland School of Medicine professor Ze Wang, who said a person using a fake lease took over his Southwest Baltimore townhome for 59 days, leaving an estimated $80,000 in damage. The case became part of a broader push in Annapolis to strengthen laws involving fraudulent rental documents.
Fake leases were also central to the dispute involving Tamieka Goode and Corey Pollard, who took over a $2.3 million Bethesda home during the 2025 Independence Day weekend.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, nearly a dozen Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department deputies converged on a $2.3 million Bethesda, Md., home taken over by squatters. Deputies were joined by more than two dozen laborers and property security experts. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
The difficulties property owners face in removing unauthorized occupants have also created a market for private contractors.
One of them, “Mikey” of WolfPack, advertises “Squatter King Removal” services.
Me and my wolves, we go above and beyond to get these houses back,” Mikey told Spotlight in July.
After months of reporting by Spotlight on Maryland and mounting attention to squatting cases, Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation in May making it illegal to create a counterfeit real-property lease with the intent to defraud. Creating or helping create such a document can carry a felony penalty, while knowingly possessing one with fraudulent intent can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor.
But the law does not take effect until Oct. 1.
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For the Middle River homeowner, that means the immediate problem remains unresolved. He renovated a vacant house to sell it, and he told Spotlight he is trying to regain control of it from occupants police say produced a lease they could not verify.
Chuck Snyder, a longtime Middle River, Md., resident, told Spotlight on Maryland on Thursday, August 27, 2026, that he is prepared to defend his property if necessary. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
For the neighbors across the street, the unanswered question is what happens in the meantime.
Synder said he isn’t doing anything different in the interim, vowing to protect his own property by any means necessary. Callick aruged his routine has already changed.
“Now I’m peeking out my windows every day,” he said.
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 to gmcollins@sbgtv.com or 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.
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