CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OR – Deputies with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man Wednesday night after discovering he had been secretly living in the crawl space of a condominium complex near Happy Valley.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were called to the SE Old Town Court complex shortly before 11 p.m. on September 3 after a witness reported suspicious activity. The witness told deputies they saw a man, who did not live at the property, park his vehicle and head toward the back of one of the buildings. They also noticed the crawl space door was open with a light shining from inside before it closed.

When deputies arrived, they found the door to the crawl space damaged and locked. An extension cord was running from the vent into the crawl space. After contacting the property owner, deputies learned no one was supposed to be inside and that the owner had previously heard unexplained noises coming from beneath the building.

Deputies forced entry and found 40-year-old Beniamin Bucur living inside. Investigators said he had taken steps to make the space livable, including installing a bed, lights, chargers, televisions, and other electronics connected to the home’s power. A pipe containing residue that later tested positive for methamphetamine was also recovered at the scene.

Bucur was arrested and booked into the Clackamas County Jail on charges of first-degree burglary and unlawful possession of methamphetamine. At a preliminary hearing Thursday, a judge set his bail at $75,000.