Police offer reward to find pair accused of squatting in Davidson mayor's house

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Davidson Police said they are offering a reward for two suspects accused of illegally living in homes they do not own.

Channel 9 obtained new search warrants for the suspects, Turmaine Thorne and Taqiyah Barber, which spell out how Davidson police said two members of the "Moorish Nation" used legal looking documents to move in and take over the home that belonged to the family of the Davidson's mayor.

Michael Morings from Dynasty Property Management manages rental property.

He said at first glance, the documents look authentic, are called a "Quit-Claim" deed, and are complete with an official seal and what looked like a cashier's check for $108,000 in the name of the Bey Family Foundation Trust.

"That is interesting, I'm going to do some research on this one," Morings said. "I would really be willing to bet that this check cannot be good."

Davidson police used the documents as evidence in a case against Thorne and Barber, who police say used the documents to convince the Register of Deeds that they were the rightful owners of a $1.5 million home belonging to the family of the Davidson mayor.

Last week, Mayor Rusty Knox told Channel 9 he felt violated.

Davidson Police arrested Thorne and Barber at the home last month, but a magistrate only authorized misdemeanor charges.

Police said they have now issued felony warrants for the pair, but they have disappeared.

Morings said he knows where police can start to look, a home on Beatties Ford road where Thorne and Barber have been squatting for nine months.

"We thought they'd moved out. We changed the locks, they broke back in," Morings said. "And you can't get them out. We can't get them out, legally."

Davidson police said they have been looking for the pair, but they have been unable to locate them. Monday, they began offer a $500 reward for anyone who can help find and arrest the two.

In 2017, a Channel 9 investigation found there could be hundreds of similar squatting cases across the state.

Experts told us in most cases, squatters target foreclosed homes owned by banks. Banks can start the montns long process to get squatters evicted, but often, the banks do not push it.

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