Trio Accused of Squatting in Garage of Lansdale Home

North Penn Now Staff•

David Moyer, left, Tracy Zisa, middle, and Robert Erickson, right.

A trio of local residents are facing charges, after they were allegedly discovered squatting in the upstairs loft of a residential garage on East Seventh Street in Lansdale.

According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to the unit block of East Seventh Street at 5:34 p.m. on Aug. 12 for a report of two men and a woman trespassing in a residential garage. The homeowner told police that she had seen three subjects at the stairs of the garage to the rear of her property, and when she went up the stairs to the loft area of the garage, she noticed that the window on the door had been pushed in and the three subjects were currently inside, the report states.

The homeowner then called police.

Police located the female suspect—identified as 48-year-old Tracy Zisa, of Colmar—walking westbound on East Seventh Street, and took her into custody. The report states that police also found Zisa to be in possession of a pipe that is commonly used to smoke crack-cocaine and methamphetamine.

A short time later, police located the two male suspects—identified as 42-year-old David Moyer and 38-year-old Robert Erickson, both of Lansdale—walking a dog along the 400 block of North Broad Street, the report states. As police were getting ready to detain the men, Erickson allegedly attempted to hide a meth/crack pipe in a nearby bush, according to the report. The men were then taken into custody.

Inside of the loft area of the garage, the report states that police found sleeping bags, bedding, furniture with knickknacks on display, several backpacks with moldy clothes inside and other personal items. Police also recovered a 10-inch Bowie knife that was near the bedding, according to the report.

As a result of the investigation:

Zisa has been charged with two felony counts of criminal trespass, a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and summary charges of defiant trespass and criminal mischief.
Moyer has been charged with two felony counts of criminal trespass and summary charges of defiant trespass and criminal mischief.
Erickson has been charged with two felony counts of criminal trespass, two misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and summary charges of defiant trespass and criminal mischief.

Moyer, Erickson and Zisa were arraigned on Tuesday by Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine, who set bail at 10-percent of $10,000 cash for Zisa and Erickson, and $10,000 cash for Moyer. All three were then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail.

Their next court appearance is a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Levine on Aug. 26 at 3 p.m.

(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records, the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)