Featured Image Credit: 6 ABC
Topics: Los Angeles, Property, News, US News
Niamh Shackleton
A billionaire's son's mansion is said to have been taken over by squatters, some of whom have allegedly attacked neighbors.
Located in the Hollywood Hills, the property is question is said to be owned by John Powers Middleton - the only son of John S. Middleton.
His father has a net worth of over $4 billion, according to Forbes. He made his fortune selling his family's storied tobacco business to Philip Morris' parent, Altria, in 2007 for $2.9 billion.
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Meanwhile he owns 48 percent of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.
Middleton was named as the team's 'control person' in 2016, New York Post reports.
His son's home is believed to have been vacant for over a decade, meaning squatters have long had the opportunity to take over the property.
The Phillies have confirmed that the Hollywood Hills homes belongs to Middleton.
"The California properties are owned by John Powers Middleton. No other members of the family have ownership, investment, control or involvement in these properties," they said in a statement.
Neighbors have now grown tired of the squatters holed up in the property and in one instance they had to call the cops several times in one week.
"Every time we call, the police will come and they'll clear it out, and then within an hour or two, five more people are there and staying the night," an unnamed neighbor told ABC 6.
Things have even turned violent in the past with one of the squatters having reportedly 'attacked one of the neighbors with steel rebar and beer bottle'.
Police confirmed to the news outlet that they've been called to the California mansion six times this month.
Middleton purchased the house in 2012 and a decade on from doing so was ordered to erect a fence around the multimillion pound home.
But the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety claim this order was ignored, and when they erected a fence themselves the 'security measure was breached'.
Now, neighbors have grown so tired of the situation that a group of them have considered pooling their funds to purchase the mansion for themselves so that they can resolve the ongoing squatting problem.
As well as the squatters, taggers have made the property an eyesore with their graffiti.
Unless Middleton gives up ownership, a neighbor said police told them it's stuck in 'limbo land' in regards to what they can do to resolve the issue.
UNILAD has contacted a representative for John Powers Middleton for comment.