Cops Serve Eviction Notices At Moses Lake Homeless Encampment
The occupants of a homeless encampment in the Moses Lake area have been told to vacate or face criminal charges.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office says nearly a dozen deputies attached eviction notices to over 50 RVs and trailer homes and gave verbal notices to the occupants of the encampment near Hiawatha Lake on Wednesday morning.
The deputies were accompanied by police officers from the property's owners, the Colville Confederated Tribes, and no incidents were reported during the notification process.
The evictions come at the request and approval of the Tribes and the notices from Sheriff Joe Kriete specified to the encampment's occupants that moving to the nearby Moses Lake Sand Dunes was not an option, since it sits on property owned by Grant County and is prohibited from temporary occupation.
In a Wednesday statement, Sheriff's officials said the Hiawatha location has become a problem site for local public safety agencies over the past few years, and that crimes such as burglary and theft have been increasing at the location, as well as the instances of vehicle fires.
The notices give occupants until 10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday, May 8) to vacate the property or face charges of criminal trespassing, which is an arrestable offense in Washington State.
Sheriff's officials say deputies will return to the site tomorrow morning to make certain that full compliance with the notifications has been achieved.