A homeless St. Paul man was charged Monday with second degree burglary after ignoring repeated warnings to stay away from a Roseville house purchased by somebody else.
Over a two-month period after the house’s sale, John Calvin Gill, 46, had mail sent to the property, put his belongings inside, attempted to change the locks, claimed to own it and falsely reported a dead body in the basement, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the charges:
Gill first contacted a real estate agent about buying a house on Skillman Avenue in Roseville this February. Gill told the agent he was homeless and unemployed.
The agent told Gill that he would have to get a job and a loan to buy the house. He also informed Gill when the house sold later that spring.
Before the closing, the agent discovered mail addressed to Gill was being delivered to the address and informed Roseville police. Police officers found some of Gill’s belongings, including a blanket and pillow, inside the property.
Two days after the closing, police found Gill on the property and issued him a trespass notice. Then on June 3, the new homeowner found Gill inside a breezeway, an enclosed connection between the house and garage accessed by locking screen doors. Police issued Gill a trespass citation.
Five days later, a man from Indiana — who runs a coroner case-management software business — told Roseville police Gill submitted an online contact form claiming “a coroner would be needed” at the house because of a dead body in the basement. There was no body, but the new homeowner considered it a threat and obtained a restraining order against Gill.
On June 23, the homeowner told police he saw Gill in the breezeway again, this time attempting to change the locks. Police found Gill with a cordless drill, drill bits and two replacement door locks.
Gill is in custody pending an evaluation to determine whether or not he is competent to stand trial.