Neighbors noticed something was off before the family upstairs ever knew a stranger was beneath their feet. Prosecutors in Oregon's Clackamas County say 41-year-old Beniamin Bucur secretly lived for nearly three months in the crawl space under a Happy Valley townhouse, outfitting it with lights, a makeshift kitchen, and a gaming setup (pics here), all while the residents above remained oblivious to his presence, per KPTV. A neighbor who spotted him entering the crawl space last September alerted authorities. "With the resident's permission, deputies used a Halligan tool to breach the crawl space door," notes a release from the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office. "Standing just inside the door, they found Bucur, who was promptly arrested."
Deputies also uncovered the hidden dwelling, along with a sword, several knives, and a pipe with meth residue. Officials say Bucur had tapped into the electricity of the family, which consisted of a married couple and their young daughter, per People. "He even hung string lights ... racking up the electricity usage while the family unknowingly footed the bill," Deputy District Attorney Tiffany Escover said in a statement.
"Beniamin Bucur was the roommate the family never knew they had," Escover added. Bucur was convicted of first-degree burglary and was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison; he'd already pleaded guilty to meth possession. Authorities say he has a criminal record stretching back more than two decades and still faces separate burglary charges in neighboring Washington County.
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