Squatter sets up drug house in Detroit Land Bank home

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The Detroit Landbank says the suspect was here illegally and they were unaware he was squatting there. 

Forty-year-old Walter Sherrod is facing drug and weapon charges after federal investigators executed a search warrant where he stayed on the 19000 block of Hanna Street on Detroit's eastside.

The Violent Crimes Taskforce says it found marijuana, cocaine, heroin, pills and a number of firearms inside. One of them, a Mossberg shotgun, was reported stolen out of Macomb County.

"There was a crowd there all the time," said neighbor William McQuirter.

Neighbors were not surprised to hear of the allegations, but the Detroit Land Bank-which owns the house, was.

"This is a situation where unfortunately we did not find out about the alleged criminal activity inside this house until afterwards," said Alyssa Strickland, spokesperson Detroit Land Bank. "So we own the property, the person who was charged by the feds was living in our property illegally."

The feds claim Sherrod confessed to selling dope, a habit he sacrificed once he had kids but took back up as they got older - and the guns were to protect his stash.

The Land Bank says it works with Detroit police and neighbors to stay abreast of potential criminal activity involving any of its 27,000 properties.

"The feds unfortunately never filled us in or tipped us off to what was going on," Strickland said. "So it's really critical that if people in the community know, if neighbors know, that they call the police, number one, and then call us so that we can take action."

The Land Bank says there's still someone living in the house and it's started the eviction process to get them out and secure this property.