An elderly woman had been expressing her concerns to her family for weeks regarding the peculiar knocking sounds that she would hear late at night from underneath her El Sereno residence. However, the situation took a horrifying turn when the police made a shocking discovery on Thursday.
The woman’s home was not disturbed by random animals like opossums or raccoons. Instead, it was a man who, according to authorities, was naked and living in the crawl space beneath her house.
Ricardo Silva, the woman’s son-in-law, shared with NBC News that the noises were often heard late at night, leading them to assume that animals were present in the house.
The family of the 93-year-old woman called the police on Thursday because the sounds coming from her house were louder than usual, according to the spokesperson.
According to a spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department, they received a call regarding an incident at the 3600 block of Locke Avenue at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Thursday. Upon arrival, the police discovered a man located underneath the house.
According to a spokesperson, a man who was hiding underground in his dwelling refused to come out, prompting officers to call in a SWAT team for assistance in apprehending him. The standoff lasted for several hours before the man was finally taken into custody on suspicion of trespassing. Police remained at the scene until 5 a.m. to ensure the situation was fully resolved.
Silva recounted the incident to NBC News, revealing that the individual in question adamantly refused to vacate the premises. What’s more, this unyielding individual displayed no fear in the face of police dogs, and even the first two rounds of tear gas failed to dislodge him.
According to NBC News, the suspect has been identified as Isaac Betancourt, a 27-year-old individual. It was reported that he was discovered completely naked.
Betancourt was taken into custody by the LAPD at 4:25 a.m. on Friday and was officially charged with a misdemeanor, as reported by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He was released on Saturday afternoon and is set to appear in court for his arraignment on December 6th.
According to the LASD Inmate Information Center, Betancourt has been arrested multiple times in the past, including in July 2022, August and October of 2023, and in March and August of this year.