From the Eureka Police Department:

On 01/18/12 at about 8:55 am, officers of the Eureka Police Department responded to a residence on the 3500 Block of ‘O’ Street regarding a report of trespassers lodging in a vacant residence. When officers arrived, they spoke to the property managers. The property managers told officers that they had received complaints about people living in the vacant residence. They went to the residence to check on the complaints. When they arrived, they contacted the subjects inside the residence. One of the suspects left at the property managers request. The rest of the suspects told the property managers they were not going to leave the residence.

As officers were on scene, they could see several people moving around inside. They made several announcements for the suspects to exit, however they refused. As officers began forcing entry to the residence, two suspects exited through the front door. They were identified as Amanda Tierney (24 years old of Eureka) and Shyanne Clark (21 years old of Eureka). Both were taken into custody without incident.

Four additional suspects remained in the residence and refused to leave. As officers tried to enter the front and back doors the suspects barricaded them, using both their bodies and furniture. After repeated attempts officers were able to force their way through the barricades and enter the residence. Once inside, officers arrested Martin Katz (23 years old of Eureka), Ann Rian (21 years old of Eureka), Stanton Wood (25 years old of Florida) and Keelan McWayne (21 years old of Eureka). All of those arrested stated they were part of the “occupy” movement. They told officers that they were “occupying” the residence because of homelessness issues and foreclosures (it should be noted that the home was a vacant rental unit, not a foreclosed residence).

Once all the suspects were placed into patrol cars officers walked through the residence with the property managers. There was graffiti inside the residence, including “anarchist” writing and graffiti related to drug use. There were numerous areas of property damage, including the removal of locks (which were replaced by the suspects with new locks). The property managers estimated that there was thousands of dollars worth of damage to the residence.

The suspects were transported to the Humboldt County Jail. They were booked for Vandalism, Forcible Trespassing, Conspiracy and Obstructing a Police Officer.

The Eureka Police Department strongly urges those who own or are in control of vacant residences in the City to be vigilant in routinely checking and securing those properties.

UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: No pictures of this “graffiti related to drug use,” but there is this shot proving that the squatters had a massive stash: