HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Neighbors say an abandoned bank branch where a body was found Friday morning has become a haven for squatters and drug abuse.
Wells Fargo closed its branch on Hillcroft near Westheimer in September 2023. Since then, at least 27 complaints have been lodged using the city’s 311 reporting system.
Many of them concern the stagnant water pooling in the building’s former drive-thru, but several dating back to February 2024 were for squatting.
“A lot people were living here but a lot of people were, like, doing drugs and a lot of people were, like, stealing stuff and getting guns and being crazy and maybe shooting people,” Alexander Ghost said.
Ghost said he knows several of the squatters and was concerned Friday that the body might belong to one of his friends.
“I was just in there with a couple of friends,” he said. “I had just picked up a — a friend, she stayed the night at my apartment and she took off this morning, but, like, yeah, she was – she lives here.”
While police haven’t officially ruled on the possibility of foul play, homicide investigators were at the scene for hours.
“I know the owner for the property. Said, ‘What’s going on?’ Tell me, ‘Hey, you have to leave.’ But I smell something bad,” Al Hik Soyltan said.
Neighbors say they’ve been seeing bad things for years.
A 311 entry from June 2024 notes “the homeless camp is getting larger.” Clothing, trash, and overflowing shopping carts were visible outside the building Friday.
Councilwoman Tiffany Thomas said fed up neighbors reached out to her last year and she got the building’s owner, Panjwani Properties, cited.
She said the owner responded by erecting a fence. But it’s apparently failed to keep everyone out.
“We’re overextending city resources when the private owner of this building should have made sure that this was secure and had 24/7 security on site,” Thomas said.
Eyewitness News called and texted a number listed for the owner of Panjwani Properties but didn’t hear back.
A Houston Public Works spokesperson told Eyewitness News that the city has an active case against the property for high weeds and stagnant water.
Inspectors plan to visit the site on Monday, but would need a warrant to enter the property, the spokesperson said.
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