Tony Gwynn’s foreclosed home has a squatter problem

The Poway home of San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn, who died five years ago, has an unexpected visitor.

The Gwynn family lost the home to foreclosure last summer and it has remained vacant. In December, neighbors noticed people at the house, including one man who seemed to spend a lot of time there.

Turns out, an unidentified squatter is living there, officials with the property management firm responsible for the bank-owned property told the San Diego Union-Tribune. Efforts to evict him have been complicated by California’s complex “squatter’s rights” laws, but civil proceedings have been started to evict the man.

“We want to address the neighbor’s concerns, but we can’t just knock down the doors,” Poway Sheriff’s Lt. Christopher Collier said. “There are laws that we have to abide by and facts that have to be checked out.”

The sad part in all of this is the fact Gwynn’s house is in foreclosure. A street named after him runs nearby, and there’s a statue of him nearby. The home is valued at $2.3 million and while there are no reports I can find as to where his family is living now, let’s hope they landed on their feet somewhere.