Dallas Police Bust Illegal Apartment Rentals On Forest Lane

Dallas police have arrested two suspects for illegally renting vacant apartment units to unsuspecting tenants.

The suspects had changed locks and illegally charged people to stay in 11 units at a Northeast Dallas complex.

William Reed, 50, returned to the apartments in the 9600 block of Forest Lane despite being formally trespassed. He changed locks on vacant units and collected money from people staying there.

Officers from the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) and Northeast Patrol cleared all 11 units simultaneously. They arrested Reed without incident and charged him with criminal trespass.

Jasmine Landrum, 41, tried hiding a glass pipe when officers arrived. She faces criminal trespass, drug paraphernalia possession, and evidence tampering charges — the latter a third-degree felony.

Police recovered a large machete and a fake plastic firearm during the operation. Officers remained on-site while property management secured the vacant units.

“We are finding innovative ways to work collaboratively across our department,” said Assistant Chief Richard Foy. “Combining the manpower from our patrol divisions with the resources of our HOT team allow us to be more creative in how we help intervene and prevent these types of nuisance crimes.”

Northeast officers will work with apartment management to prevent future incidents. The investigation is documented under case number 00658-2026.