Squatter Allegedly Helps Himself to Mansion's Art

Cops say he stole and sold more than $300K worth of paintings
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2015 5:02 PM CDT
Squatter Allegedly Helps Himself to Mansion's Art
Jeremiah Kaylor   (San Francisco Police Department)

A 39-year-old man was arrested Sunday for allegedly squatting in the guest house of a historic San Francisco mansion while stealing and selling nearly a dozen paintings off its walls. Police were called to the vacant mansion—put on the market in 2012 for $25 million—for reports of a suspicious person Saturday night, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. They found Jeremiah Kaylor, who calls himself an artist on his Facebook page, according to ABC 7. Police say Kaylor claimed to be in the process of buying the house and handed over faked documents to prove his story. According to KTVU, police were unable to contact anyone to disprove Kaylor's story so late at night, so they left.

The Chronicle reports the listing agent went to the mansion Sunday and performed a "citizens arrest" on Kaylor, who was allegedly in the process of loading a painting from the guest house into a U-Haul at the time. The agent told police 11 paintings worth a total of more than $300,000 were missing from the property, the Chronicle reports. Police say Kaylor sold the art through social media and pawn shops for much less than it was worth. As of Monday, they had recovered nine of the stolen paintings. According to ABC 7, it's unclear who currently owns the mansion or the looted art. KTVU notes that the mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Police believe Kaylor may have been squatting there for up to two months. (More weird crimes stories.)

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