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Squatter found again
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John P. Reese
MONROE - A homeless Monroe man arrested in August for making himself at home in a vacant house for sale in the 800 block of 22nd Avenue was arrested again Wednesday, this time for squatting in a vacant house for sale three doors down.

John P. Reese, 21, faces charges of trespassing and bail jumping. He was arrested Wednesday after a caller at 8:52 a.m. reported seeing Reese come and go from a house in the 800 block of 22nd Avenue.

Reese was just leaving the house as police arrived, according to Monroe Chief of Police Fred Kelley. He was jailed.

The cases aren't instances of squatting in abandoned property, Kelley said. Reese is "actually going into someone else's property."

On Aug. 21, police arrested Reese in the same block for breaking into another vacant home for sale. A real estate agent who went to show the house was surprised to find "clothes, cigarette butts and cooked noodles in an upstairs bedroom" - items that had not been there a few days before, according to a criminal complaint filed in Green County Circuit Court.

When police investigated, they found a makeshift bed, a pair of wet socks hanging in the closet and a toothbrush and toothpaste by the bathroom sink. They traced the break-in to Reese using a neighbor's description and Stop-N-Go receipts found in the bedroom.

Reese was released from jail Aug. 26 on a $1,000 signature bond. Charges for his latest arrest were not filed in court as of Thursday afternoon. He has no prior criminal record in Wisconsin. Police reports indicate Reese is homeless and has had previous contact with police for setting up a tent in a construction area of a business.

Kelley said he hopes the court "will force some resources" on Reese.

Court records give an address in Monroe for Reese, but his grandfather, Jack Reese, whose home it is, said Thursday his grandson doesn't live there and has been resistant to help from family.

"He's 21. He made some decisions that he shouldn't have made," the elder Reese said.