Richmond Man Accused of Squatting in Newport Apartment

Newport police charged a 25-year-old Richmond man with trespassing Wednesday after he allegedly was caught squatting in an apartment at Coddington Point Condos on Maple Avenue.

Police said Andrio Rodriguez, 25, of 21 Mechanic St., had a foam mattress with bed sheets and personal items spread out throughout the apartment when they knocked on the door with guns drawn on Wednesday at 10:03 a.m.

A short time earlier, a maintenance employee entered the unit thinking it was vacant and saw a man inside with what appeared to be a sleeping bag and “clothes strewn about,” according to a police report.

Upon arrival, the maintenance tech at the apartment complex told police that a female tenant had been given a key to the vacant unit but it was to be used only for bathing purposes while the boiler unit in her apartment was broken.

Police entered the room and found Rodriguez, who said that he was just showering in the unit and was visiting his relative, who happened to be the woman with the spare key.

He claimed that he was just using the room to store some personal items during his visit and had moved the mattress in there so as not to clutter his relative’s room.

But police saw food in the fridge, a running fan in the back bedroom, clothes in the closet and on the floor and other evidence that someone was making the place a home.

Rodriguez was taken into custody without incident. While en route to to the police station, he asked that his belongings be moved into his relative’s room.

Rodriguez was due to appear in court for arraignment Thursday morning.