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In Lewiston, ID lives a 70 year old woman who's a Chinese national. In '19 she went to China for a visit. She got caught there by the covid restrictions and it took her 18 months to get home to Idaho. She arrived last week to find her house taken over by squatters who'd completely trashed her house and stolen everything in it. They even cut out all the copper water lines. The police had to evict 18 of the squatters. Then they also stole her wallet with her ID, cards, etc. SOB's need a good flogging with an ancient Roman cat.


LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — When it comes to cases of adding insult to injury, the story of Helen Wong ranks among the worst.

“I came back from vacation and found my house in a mess,” Wong, 70, told The Lewiston Tribune Thursday while seated in the front room of the 15th Street Lewiston home where she has lived for 30 years. “I was so sad. I cannot do it (clean up by myself). I feel so helpless.”

But now Wong doesn’t have to do it by herself, thanks to the efforts of a kind-hearted deputy from the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office. Jesse Broyles happened upon Wong on Tuesday night outside the county jail as he was getting off work.

“She just got off the plane from China on June 4,” Broyles recalled. “The (baggage claim) tag is still on the little cart she pulls around.”

He said that even though Wong didn’t look well, he almost walked right past her, eager to get home after a long day. But the teachings of his faith tugged at his heart, so Broyles stopped to talk.

The story Wong told floored him. What started in late 2019 as a “vacation” to her Chinese homeland ended up as an unplanned year-and-a-half exile when the COVID-19 outbreak slammed the door on her return to Lewiston. China eventually eased its travel restrictions, but Wong just recently decided that her health would be safe in the tight confines of a jumbo jet. Late last week, she finally made it back to the United States.

But what awaited at her 15th Street home shocked Wong and left her despondent. She arrived to find it plundered, abused and partially dismantled by squatters, 18 of whom had to be rousted by the Lewiston Police Department. Almost all of her property had been stolen, including clothing, furnishings, fixtures and personal belongings.

Someone even went underneath the house and cut out all the copper water pipes to sell for scrap. The electrical junction box had been stripped, and the home’s power and water had been long discontinued. There was trash and drug paraphernalia heaped everywhere, and a putrid stench permeated the whole two-story residence.

To make matters worse, the day after she got back, her wallet went missing. A grocery store wouldn’t take a check in payment for food because she didn’t have identification. Desperate, she got a ride from a good Samaritan to the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office in North Lewiston to get a new ID. But she had no proof of residency and couldn’t get an ID. That’s where serendipity stepped in, serving up Broyles as a path to salvation.

“That’s what caused her to sit out on the bench in front of the jail at that exact moment when I got off work,” he said. “So the timing of all this was very miraculous. If she hadn’t had a problem getting her ID, she would have been in and out of there and I would have never seen her, and she would have gone back to a home that has no power, no water. The jungle, as I call it.”

He went with Wong to see the situation for himself, and what he saw spurred him into quick action. That night he posted a long message on Facebook, asking for help. The response in the first 48 hours was overwhelming, with a squad of helpers on hand by Wednesday to start making the house livable again.

On Thursday, an inspector signed off on the home’s electrical service so Avista can turn the power back on. Broyles wasn’t there because he was at work, but that day’s crew of volunteers buzzed around, methodically putting things back in order.

Deputy Ryan O’Toole had spent much of his Thursday morning cutting down massive piles of weeds and brush from the yard with Travis Candler, and piling trash to haul away later. He said the damage done by the squatters was appalling.

“When we came through, there was garbage all over the floor,” O’Toole said. “My wife and I took an entire pickup load of garbage to the dump.”

Candler’s fiancee, Amber Haning, was busy in Wong’s kitchen, down on her hands and knees using a metal scraper to remove layers of solidified dirt from the tile floor. She had a smile on her face despite the nasty work, because she has also seen tough times and was happy to lend a hand.

“I know what it’s like to need a place to sleep,” Haning said. “I just felt for her. I know how people can destroy things.”

Candler’s son, Logan Candler, has also been by the house to help with the cleanup effort, as have several other volunteers. One of the busiest has been Broyles’ sister, Jeriann Moffett, who is also giving Wong a place to live until the home is fit for occupation.

That kind of support has been building thanks to Broyles’ Facebook posts. Someone dropped off a bunch of furniture Thursday morning, and another brought several bags of food. Cleanup crew volunteer Jodi Brunelle, retired sheriff’s office jailer, also set up a GoFundMe account for Wong on Wednesday that had collected $300 of a $5,000 goal after the first 24 hours. Those who would like to contribute to the fund may visit gofund.me/df9e163b.

Other help is on the way. Moffett’s husband, Kevin Moffett, works at Miller Bros. Plumbing and Heating in Lewiston, and owner Paul Miller has offered to supply the piping necessary to restore water service. Carlton Construction has also offered assistance.

Broyles said he knows Wong is thankful for all the support the community has shown in such a short amount of time. But he directed his gratitude toward his new friend, who gave him the opportunity to undertake the simple but profound act of showing love for a fellow human in need.

“The lucky ones in this entire situation, it’s not Helen,” he said. “It’s actually the people around her who are coming here who have been blessed. They leave the house sweaty and tired and exhausted, but with a smile and almost a tear in their eye after meeting the coolest person in the entire world.”

Did she not have any neighbors will balls?


Or is this the “oh my nearest neighbor is 10 miles away” type thing guys out west say?

Part of a subdivision pretty much in the middle of town.

It's heartwarming to see that people will still come through in a crisis like this and help out a person so much who suffered such an overwhelming criminal loss.

It's also disgusting that the perps just walked away apparently, and that her neighbors did absolutely nothing to put a stop to what was happening.

Probably the perps just moved on to the next victim who they had already scouted out weeks earlier.

She left town at the Wong time and made the Wong move not having someone keep an eye on her place.

Glad the neighbors are taking care of her. I remember once when our singles group at church was asked to help clean a house in Boise. We used snow shovels to get the trash off the floor. Once we got down to carpet we decided to just tear the carpet out and have the church buy them new carpet. We hauled about 8 pickup loads of garbage out of the house. It was amazing to see what 20 or so of us did in one evening. I just regret not having a hazmat suit because I got quite sick for a few weeks after.

Bb

Not just squatters, but tweakers, I’ll bet.

maybe they went to the Wong house .

I’m glad she recurved help! There are a lot of sorry MF’s in this world.

It should be legal to shoot them....on sight.

I keep telling you guys. #4 rebar would cure a lot of criminality.

+1

Anything Suppressed would fix a rodent problem right quick.

🦫

Rebar or buck?

I’m not following.

You are correct, sir.

Idaho...

Must of been some of those evil Mormons Crappy Hamper's warning us about.

Good one! That carpet pulling is disgusting, done something similar myself. It wasn't voluntary, either work or go home.

tell me about it.

Like most other places, Lewiston/Clarkston has some creepo folks for sure.

Glad it seems to be working out for the old gal.

Rousted? Why doesn't this read, "arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.."?

Rousted? Why doesn't this read, "arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.."?[/quote]

Don't know the law there in ID, but it might just be trespassing if the owner wasn't there to witness any theft and such.

And a trespassing beef is likely no worry to those 18 folks. They might get a shower and a bunk and be grateful for a night.