Property owner finds ankle monitor on his roof

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A property owner in Austin, Texas, said he’s fed up and concerned after he found an ankle monitor on the roof of his business.

“We put up the fence on Tuesday,” said Peter Morales as he walked through his property on South Lamar Boulevard.

Morales noticed someone had recently moved into the alley on his property, leaving the area trashed.

“Laptops and a bunch of bags, and needles and drugs,” said Morales as he showed video of the camp. “I actually had to hire someone to do the removal”

He also found an ankle monitor on the roof of his business, with bedding and an area he said looked like someone was living at.

Morales said he called police who stopped by to escort someone off his property.

Morales said an ankle monitor was picked up by a detective, but so far he has not heard who the person was or why they were required to wear the monitoring device.

“Is there a predator or violent criminal sleeping on top of my building?” Morales said.

He said whoever was living on his roof also damaged his property and that’s why he’s hoping to get more information.

“The insurance company is going to want to know, obviously, what caused the damage, who caused the damage,” Morales said.

KXAN News reached out to the Austin Police Department to find out more information. APD said it is still working on getting information.

“It is costing all of us peace of mind, it is costing us money,” Morales said.

“If you are a defense attorney, you would get an email from pre-trial services if the clients monitor dies or if they cut it off,” said Ben Gergen, a criminal defense attorney with Gergen, Hale & Campbell Law Firm.

Gergen, who is not associated with this case, said he has represented many clients wearing these devices.

He said someone’s bond will usually be revoked for cutting off a monitor and they could face a higher bond to get back out of custody when they are rearrested.

“That judge may increase that bond $50,000, and if you ever get back out of jail — now at $100,000 bond — you will have to deal with the same monitor,” Gergen said.

Morales said he’s hoping to get answers soon on who the person is. He’s also hoping he doesn’t have to deal with more camps popping up on his property.

“Right now, this area of Austin seems to be deteriorating more and more,” Morales said.