East End strip mall inundated by repeat trespassers, accused of causing thousands in damage

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The strip mall on Harrisburg in the East End near the METRO facility looks ordinary from above. Although from below, property manager Jim Carroll said it's always busy.

"They just keep coming back," Carroll said.

The now-empty mall isn't filled with customers or businesses. Instead, the mall is filled with debris and damage from people trespassing.

"I don't know what else to do. I don't know what the answer is," Carroll said.

Carroll said he spends his evenings watching the mall to make sure people don't break in, but it doesn't stop them. He repeatedly calls the Houston Police Department for help.

He showed ABC13 the journal he keeps with names of people who trespass on the property.

"Here's the same girl," he said as he pointed to Christian Walter, a woman who was just arrested Wednesday night.

Walter was already out of jail on a $200 bond from a previous trespassing incident. Carroll said he believes she'll return after bonding out of jail on her new charge.

The state has repeatedly requested higher bond amounts in her cases. ABC13 asked the district attorney's office why, but we have not heard back. But Carroll believes the issue is within the court system.

"HPD comes in and does their job and detains them," Carroll said.

Carroll said Walter is just one of the repeat offenders. He said he thinks the bond amounts should be higher to prevent them from returning.

Carroll showed Eyewitness News the damage in the building, which he said was caused by trespassers. He said the strip mall owners have paid tens of thousands to fix the damages.

Now, he hopes a new city administration will step in to stop this from happening.

Mayor John Whitmire addressed the homeless issue in a press conference earlier Thursday.

"We have to have a meaningful re-entry program," Whitmire said.

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