A Baltimore County mother says a man living in a nearby storm drain has repeatedly spoken to and chased her children, prompting police to arrest him on a trespassing charge.
Unique Wiggins of the Lutherville-Timonium area said her children complained at least four times about a man talking to them from underground. She initially did not believe them.
The situation escalated on a recent Friday when her 21-year-old daughter called in a panic. The daughter said the man told her she could not walk in that spot and should leave.
“Mom, I’m scared. The man told me I can’t walk right here and to just dip,” the daughter told her, according to Wiggins’ account to WJZ-TV.
Wiggins went to the opening herself and heard someone singing. She called out to him.
“I walk over to the little manhole sewer thing, and I hear somebody singing, and I think, ‘This is unbelievable.’ So I’m like, ‘Yo, yo, you,’ and he’s like, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘Leave my f****** kids alone,’” Wiggins told the station. “And he said, ‘No, tell them to leave me alone?’ And I said, ‘They can’t possibly be messing with you, and you are in the sewer.’”
Wiggins said the man has also chased her children down the street. She believes he trespassed on her property and broke into her car.
Baltimore County Police arrested the man for trespassing on Oct. 13 and released him on his own recognizance. Police have not publicly named him.
Officers served a peace order on him later in October. One earlier order expired without being served because his address was listed as unknown. A separate order was set to expire on Oct. 26.
Police told Wiggins that sewer lines and culverts are public property, which limits what they can do to remove someone living there. The department said it offered the man mobile outreach and social services, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Officers also installed a no-trespassing sign at a storm drain after neighborhood complaints. Police noted that no manhole was involved in the primary location.
“I don’t feel like I’m protected. I don’t feel like my kids are protected. I’m not saying this gentleman should necessarily go to jail, but he should not live in the sewer. He should not be able to be down there,” Wiggins said.
She has asked county officials to cover openings and post clearer signs. “They can put a no trespassing sign there. They can put a no trespassing sign, and they can cover the holes. That’s what I would like to see. I would like Baltimore County to make me feel like I am a member of this community,” she said.
In a statement, Baltimore County Police said the department remains focused on community concerns and public safety as the case moves through the court system. The man is scheduled to appear in court.
Details of the case were first reported by WJZ-TV / CBS Baltimore and later covered by outlets including the New York Post and The Independent.
