Fox Chapel police charge man living in vacant home that’s on the market for $700K
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A man who belongs to a group that describes itself as a private tribal association for indigenous peoples is accused of squatting in a large Fox Chapel home listed for sale for nearly $700,000.
Noble Prince Kamoory El, 28, faces two counts of criminal trespassing in the case that police Chief David Laux, who is retiring in a few weeks, said was “probably the strangest one I’ve seen in my career.”
Laux said Kamoory El’s attempt to live in the home began to unravel July 1 when a Keller Williams real estate agent and a prospective buyer went to view the 4,630-square-foot home.
The home was built in 1956 and sits on a 5.67-acre lot. Police said the foreclosed property is owned by U.S. Bank Trust National Association and managed by one of its subsidiaries.
A real estate agent told police she went to the home with a potential buyer and discovered the agency’s “for sale” sign and the doorknob lockbox containing the house key were missing.
Laux said the man who was interested in buying the house was the first to report what might be going on in the home.
“He and the agent never went inside the house on the day they went to inspect it, but the man told us that there were signs that someone was living in the house,” Laux said. “So he did a little checking around on social media sites and was able to start piecing together what was going on.”
The potential buyer said he found a video posted on Facebook that showed an antique vase being filmed from inside the house.
The real estate agent did not respond to requests seeking comment.
At the same time Kamoory El was living in the house, Laux said, an organization with which he is associated, Autochthons of Pennsylvania, was sending the real estate agency letters indicating that Kamoory El was trying to get the deed for the property changed to a company he created called Autochthons of Pennsylvania Trust.
The Autochthons describe themselves as a private tribal association for indigenous peoples.
“My understanding of the organization is that its members believe that U.S. laws do not apply to them,” Laux said.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Kamoory El, there was a Honda SUV parked in the home’s garage with a fictitious license plate bearing the words “Autochthons of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees” and “Private Use.”
Laux said investigators contacted the owners of the property and raided the home July 16.
“When we went inside, we found all sorts of evidence that the house was being lived in,” Laux said. “There was furniture in the rooms and fresh food in the refrigerator.”
The items were taken to a storage facility, and a locksmith changed the locks on the home to secure the property, Laux said.
Police confiscated a magazine loaded with ammunition as well as a device that allows a Glock handgun to be converted into a shoulder-style weapon. A compound bow and two large knives also were removed, along with three arrows that were stuck in a tree on the property.
Laux said Kamoory El was arrested the next day when he went to the Fox Chapel Police Department “to report that his home had been broken into and that items were removed.”
The Honda SUV Kamoory El was driving was impounded, and he was taken to Allegheny County Jail.
Court records show he was released from jail on his own recognizance the day he was arrested. He faces a preliminary hearing Aug. 4.
Kamoory El does not have an attorney listed in court records and could not be reached for comment.
“It’s a very bizarre case because most people think of squatters taking over an abandoned or dilapidated house and using it for criminal activity,” Laux said. “You don’t expect someone to be squatting in a house like this one.
“It’s also rare to see this level of sophisticated criminal activity where they are attempting to use the courts to gain control of the property,” Laux added. “If I write a book when I retire about the cases I’ve seen, this one will probably take up a chapter or two.”