Man Allegedly Finds Two Homeless Men Cooking Dinner in His Apartment
A California resident allegedly found two homeless men cooking dinner in his apartment on Friday.
Elijah Smart, 29, and Markis White, 19, were identified by police as the men who allegedly broke into Robby Spillman’s Santa Monica, California, apartment. Both were charged with burglary on Wednesday, according to NBC 4.
Spillman went Christmas shopping on Friday and found the men after arriving home, The Associated Press reported.
“I saw two homeless men in my home cooking themselves dinner,” Spillman said, according to NBC4.
Smart and White allegedly told Spillman that they weren’t expecting him to come home so soon and if it was okay to “hang out for a while,” NBC4 reported.
“I was just in shock,” Spillman said, according to NBC4.
Spillman added Smart and White made themselves at his home and took a shower in his apartment.
“I was calm and I said to them, ‘Do you have enough food?’ ‘Is there anything I can get you guys?’” Spillman said, NBC4 reported.
Spillman was able to call the police after taking his dog for a walk. The Santa Monica resident believes the homeless men came in through the patio in the back of his apartment. He said Smart and White left a mess and will likely throw the dishes away, according to NBC 4.
Spillman hopes to find a new place to live with his pregnant girlfriend. He doesn’t believe he can raise a family in the current apartment, NBC 4 reported.
Santa Monica’s homelessness population increased by 4 percent between 2016 to 2017, from 921 to 957 people.
California had the highest rate of unsheltered and homeless people in 2017 out of all 50 states, according to a December 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Homelessness in Los Angeles County, which includes Santa Monica, has to do with rent being too high and wages not catching up with increased rent prices, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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