On August 12, 2022, two squatters from Snowflake, Brendan Anderson and Eilene Dukes, were arrested and booked into Navajo County Jail for Criminal Trespassing and Criminal Littering.
In September 2021, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office was contacted in regard to a trespassing complaint east of Snowflake off of Old Woodruff Road. Deputies contacted Brendan and Eilene on the property. When the couple was asked about the property, they stated they knew the owners and had permission to stay.
On June 10, 2022, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office Community Resource deputy was able to verify ownership of the property. The Deputy determined that Brenden and Eilene were occupying on private property and State Land. Brendan and Eilene were contacted the same day and advised they had 30 days to clean the property and vacate. They both acknowledged they did not know the owner of the property and that they were trespassing.
Brenden and Eilene were contacted by deputies on two different occasions and given more than ample time to vacate the property and clean up their mess. The individuals disregarded the warnings, therefore legal action was taken to remove them and the debris.
Contractors that were hired by the Arizona State Land Department removed more than 26,000 pounds of litter from the property, in addition to two travel trailers. The owner of the private property is sharing the cost of the clean-up with the State.
Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse stated, “These types of incidents are increasing around the county, when a property owner notifies my Office, we work together with our partners to develop a solution so the property owner can re-claim their property. I appreciate the hard work done by the Community Resource Deputy, the Arizona State Land Department, Navajo County Public Works, and the Navajo County Attorney’s Office.”
Both Anderson and Dukes were held on a $5,000.00 secured bond.