Police allegedly find squatters, drugs in Allentown house

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – When Allentown police found a wanted man outside what was supposed to be a vacant house Tuesday afternoon, they allegedly found beds, video games and drugs inside.

Daron S. Exum, Terrence Gray and Alan F. Holmes are facing drug and trespassing charges following their arrests Tuesday in the 500 block of North Park Street. District Judge Tom Creighton arraigned the trio a few hours later, setting bail for each at $25,000.

Shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Allentown police and Lehigh County probation officers spotted Exum standing in the doorway of a home in the 500 block of North Park Street. Police said the 21-year-old was wanted, and court records show he was charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment in January. He was not arraigned on those charges until his arrest Tuesday afternoon.

Police said they called Gray and Holmes out of the house, and the three men allegedly admitted they didn’t live there. Police contacted the owner, who reported that the house was currently vacant.

A search of the house allegedly turned up men’s clothing, beds, food containers, a couch and a video game system with a game that was playing, according to the court records.

Police allege they also found 1,305 packets of heroin and fentanyl, about 89 grams of crack, about 6 grams of cocaine and about 5 grams of loose fentanyl along with baggies and scales. Authorities said they also found a Ruger handgun between a cushion and the arm of the couch. Felony convictions in 2013 and 2015 for Gray and Exum, respectively, make it illegal for either man to have a firearm, according to records.

Police charged Exum, Gray and Holmes with a single felony count of criminal trespass and two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver. They each also face misdemeanor counts of drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Exum and the 36-year-old Holmes each face an additional felony count of illegal possession of a firearm.

Neither Exum, nor Holmes have confirmable addresses. They failed to post bail and were sent to Lehigh County Jail. The 38-year-old Gray, who lives in New York, was released from custody Wednesday after a bondsman posted his bail. Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled for May 21.

The judge set bail in Exum’s assault case at $15,000.