CBS News
“The Squatter Hunter” takes aim at illegal tenants across California
Flash Shelton has taken matters into his own hands when it comes to squatters, using his own experience with the illegal tenants to help homeowners across the state of California.
Affectionately known by many as “The Squatter Hunter,” Shelton gives squatters a taste of their own medicine as he looks to drive them out of the homes they’ve taken over without any real threat of legal consequence.
“All I’m doing is becoming a squatter and flipping this process on them,” Shelton said. “I figured if they could take a house, I could take a house.”
Shelton has been busy taking back properties across the West Coast for the last year, starting his mission after a squatter invaded his mother’s home that they were trying to sell.
In response, Shelton had his mother give him a lease for the home so that he could move in — making things very uncomfortable for the squatter.
“I’m not going in and I’m not hurting anyone. I’m not kicking them out, I’m not throwing them out,” Shelton said.
Instead, he’s turning the tables, forcing those squatters to go to court in order to fight to get the property for themselves, as opposed to the homeowner having to go to court to get them out.
Since posting his first video on YouTube more than a year ago, Shelton has been able to do it a dozen more times.
He makes his way into homes occupied by squatters, squatting along side them until he can force them to leave. He brings cameras, recording every moment as he creates as many minor nuisances as he can until they get fed up with him.
Shelton says that the issue isn’t isolated in California, and that the United Nations estimates there are at least a billion squatters worldwide.
As he continues to fight on his own terms, he’s pushing for lawmakers to make things more official.
“Squatters laws never were intended for residential properties,” he said. “They were never intended to support breaking into someone’s house.”
Shelton contends that there needs to be a clearer definition between tenant rights and squatter rights.
“It needs to be separated out to where squatting — criminal tenants serve civil process.”
Until then, he plans to continue helping as many homeowners as he can, pushing out those who don’t belong.
A Frontier flight appeared to catch fire as the plane was landing Saturday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cell phone video showed flames and billows of smoke on the plane’s undercarriage as it touched down on the runway. Fire trucks and other emergency service vehicles rushed onto the runway, as smoke continued to surround the plane.
“Frontier flight 1326 experienced a hard landing,” a spokesperson for the airport confirmed to CBS News. “The Clark County Fire Department responded immediately and all passengers and crew have been safely transported to the gated area. No injuries were reported.”
Frontier flight 1326 from KSAN-KLAS just caught fire on landing at KLAS.
I caught it on video as it landed pic.twitter.com/KGt1Asx3rv
— Tyler (@TylerHerrick) October 5, 2024
Frontier Flight 1326 left San Diego at 1:51 p.m. Pacific Time and landed at Las Vegas at 3:37 p.m., according to Flight Aware.
“The pilots detected smoke and declared an emergency,” a spokesperson for Frontier Airlines confirmed to CBS News. “The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew were evacuated via airstairs. No injuries were reported, and passengers have been bussed to the terminal. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.”
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CBS News
$100 million in federal funds released for North Carolina to rebuild roads, bridges damaged by Helene
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation released $100 million in emergency funds on Saturday for North Carolina to rebuild its roads and bridges damaged by Helene.
“We are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources.”
The storm caused rampant flooding that has devastated several towns and killed more than 225 people – with CBS News confirming at least 114 people killed in North Carolina. There was more than 8 inches of rain across the western North Carolina mountains, with some areas seeing more than a foot.
Hundreds of roads across Western North Carolina remain closed, leading to an increase in air traffic as teams scour the region for survivors by air. Air traffic over Western North Carolina has increased by 300% due to relief efforts since the storm cleared, the Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Mudslides blocked Interstate 40 and other highways in North Carolina and about 400 roads were closed due to damage from Helene. Interstate 40 was damaged at several locations, the Department of Transportation said.
President Biden visited the Carolinas on Wednesday, surveying the flood damage by air from Greenville, South Carolina, to Asheville, North Carolina. Mr. Biden announced the federal government would cover “100%” of all debris removal and emergency protective measure costs in North Carolina for six months.
The Department of Transportation said these relief funds will allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation to act more quickly to fund eligible repairs to their damaged facilities.
Li Cohen and
contributed to this report.
