SF Mansion Squatter Sold Art for Squat Until Caught

Jeremiah Kaylor spent months squatting in a San Francisco mansion and sold 11 of its pricey paintings for diddly-squat before getting caught this weekend. He claimed to be purchasing the Presidio Heights property when police first approached him and he had (fraudulent) documents to prove it.

Although police do not know how Kaylor got into the mansion, they say he spent about two months as a squatter there. Now he is in custody on suspicion of burglary after a listing agent found him in the house and detained him.

A Sophisticated Squatter

Kaylor admitted to police that he stole the paintings. Nine of them have already been recovered contacting local pawn shops.

According to the New York Daily News, Kaylor has no criminal record in California. His last listed address was in Massachusetts and his social media activity indicates that he is a self-employed painter.

Although they say that Kaylor sold the stolen paintings for far less than their value, San Francisco police were apparently impressed by his sophistication. He was an unusual squatter.

When police went to see Kaylor on Saturday, based on reports that there was a suspicious person in the neighborhood, he showed them paperwork that indicated that he was purchasing the property. "For a person to generate legal documents, you've got to be a little more sophisticated than your average squatter," Officer Carlos Manfredi told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Multimillion Dollar Mansion Is a Steal

Police have not confirmed the address of the mansion where Kaylor was found but reporters have sorted it out using online resources and deductive reasoning. The house that Kaylor took over is the only one on the block that police reported visiting that is for sale.

The owners of the 8-bedroom and 7-bathroom "single-family" home sought $25 million for the mansion in 2012. Now the house is being listed at $17 million. Perhaps Kaylor will pick it up when he gets out of custody.

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Related Resources:

• Squatter, 23, Claims Legal Right to Occupy $2.5M Mansion (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
• Legal How-To: Getting Squatters Evicted (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
• Mansion Squatters a Growing Problem (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)