Boardman squatters removed

Staff report

boardman

Police and township officials responding to complaints of people staying at a Cook Avenue apartment building without authorization arrested one man and removed two others.

Police were called Wednesday morning to 824 Cook on a report of building damage and unauthorized people staying there.

An employee of a construction company told police that he discovered two apartments had been forced open and another had people staying in it without permission. There was no heat or running water in the building. Property-tax records show that it’s owned by a mortgage company.

Joshua Gatewood, 19, who along with three other people had been staying in one of the apartments, was arrested on a warrant. The warrant from the Mahoning County sheriff’s office charges him with contempt of court. Gatewood was lodged in the Mahoning County jail.

Earlier this week, a woman who lives near the apartment building told township trustees of people living in the apartment without permission, the building’s disrepair and trash being thrown out of windows.