A California man faces a pair of charges after Palm Beach Police said he entered a vacant mansion south of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, took a shower, swam in the pool and slept in the bed.
The 26-year-old man was taken into custody May 22 on charges of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and petit theft, according to court records. He remained at the Palm Beach County Jail on June 2 on a $250 bond, jail records show.
A landscaper at the multimillion-dollar beachfront estate spotted the man walking toward a nearby road about 9 a.m. May 22, according to an arrest report. The landscaper called the property’s owner and then the police, the report said.
When officers arrived, they found the man inside the house, according to the report. Police said the man told them he had entered through an unlocked door and spent the night after closing on a deal to purchase the property the previous day. He also said the government bought the estate for him, and that Trump and other government officials told him to go into the house through the unlocked door, the arrest report said.
Officers found an unmade bed and the man’s belongings, including a U.S. Air Force identification card, in one of the bedrooms, the report said. The man told police that he used the shower in the bedroom’s bathroom and swam in the estate’s pool.
During the man’s first appearance in Palm Beach County court on May 23, a judge ordered him to have no contact with the property’s owner, court records show.
With many properties throughout Palm Beach standing vacant during the island’s off-season, police said residents and property managers should be cautious about where they leave spare keys, expensive items and important documents.
To prevent sliding glass doors from being lifted off their tracks, homeowners can place a security pin or heavy-duty sliding-door lock into the bottom track, police spokesman Sgt. Michael Ogrodnick said.
He provided these tips to secure properties for those planning extended vacations or placing a home on the market:
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Intruder showered, slept in vacant Palm Beach mansion, police say
Reporting by Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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By Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News | USA TODAY Network
