“For two and a half months, Beniamin Bucur was the roommate the family never knew they had,” said Tiffany Escovar, the deputy DA who prosecuted the case.
OREGON CITY, Ore. — A man caught living in the crawl space of a Happy Valley, Oregon, townhome was sentenced to three years in prison, according to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office.
The case began on Sept. 3 of last year, when a neighbor spotted someone going into the crawlspace of the townhome and called dispatch. After getting permission from the home’s occupants, deputies used a tool to crack open the crawlspace door.
Inside, deputies found 41-year-old Beniamin Bucur — a stranger to the residents, a married couple and their young daughter, the DA’s office said.
Inside the roomy crawlspace, Bucur had furnished a comfortable living space, complete with string lights powered via a “network of power cords” plugged into the townhome’s electricity. He also had multiple TVs, gaming consoles and cooking burners.
Investigators also found a sword, knives and a pipe containing methamphetamine residue.
“For two and a half months, Beniamin Bucur was the roommate the family never knew they had,” said Tiffany Escovar, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case.
The act of living in someone’s walls, attic or crawlspace has become known colloquially as “phrogging.”
Bucur was convicted of first-degree burglary and sentenced to 36 months in prison on Tuesday. The DA’s office said he faces more burglary charges in Washington County for an unrelated incident that happened while he was out on supervised release in the Happy Valley case.
Court records show that Bucur has prior convictions for burglary, criminal trespass, theft and resisting arrest, with most of his charges piling up in 2018. He was convicted of fourth-degree assault and harassment in 2022, as well as second-degree criminal mischief.