A Florida police officer who helped discover a dead man’s body allegedly used the encounter to seize control of the man’s house, falsifying documents and later demanding reimbursement for at least $214,000 he claimed to have spent on the property.
Brian Louis Sguros, 35, faces five felony accusations stemming from his dealings with the home of Dennis West, a 71-year-old Lauderhill resident whose death initially brought the officer to his doorstep.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office announced Sguros’ arrest Tuesday, accusing him of exploiting information available through his job with the Lauderhill Police Department to pursue a property that belonged to someone else’s family.
West had died from natural causes when officers entered his residence during a July 2022 welfare check. Sguros was among those who discovered him.
The alleged takeover eventually collided with the rights of West’s surviving relatives, who sold the house to a real estate business unaware that the officer would contest its claim.
By August 2022, Sguros was asserting control over the residence, a starting date he later supplied in legal paperwork.
Investigators believe his police credentials provided an important advantage in carrying out the alleged deception.
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Renovation permits were obtained through an application bearing what detectives identified as West’s forged signature. The officer also allegedly continued paying the property’s taxes and utility bills under the deceased man’s identity.
As part of their investigation, detectives uncovered inquiries Sguros had made through police computer systems concerning West’s date of birth, driver’s license record and Social Security number.
Investigators found no indication that Sguros had known West before helping discover his body.
Nevertheless, he allegedly presented himself as West’s friend when communicating with the county medical examiner’s office and asserted that the deceased man had no surviving family, a claim contradicted by the existence of West’s heirs.
Sguros offered a different explanation for taking charge of the residence, maintaining in sworn statements that he wanted to protect it from trespassers and possible criminal activity.
His account eventually became the subject of a legal dispute after West’s heirs transferred ownership to a real estate company.
The company’s purchase gave it a claim to the property that Sguros was allegedly treating as his own. When an employee attempted to gain access, the officer turned over the keys, but the disagreement over possession persisted.
The buyer’s attorney pursued an unlawful detainer action in an effort to secure control of the house. The officer answered the company’s claim with his own complaint.
He maintained that he had encountered West’s body while performing police duties, arranged to have the residence cleaned and personally financed extensive improvements.
What his filing failed to establish, according to the affidavit, was how those circumstances entitled him to control the property.
In February 2025, Sguros sought reimbursement of at least $214,000 for renovations, repairs and cleanup that he maintained he had personally financed.
That spending figure was his claim, rather than an independently verified accounting of the work.
The criminal investigation ultimately produced charges of official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person’s identification, criminal use of personal identification information, offense against a computer user and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
Following his arrest, the Lauderhill Police Department suspended Sguros from duty without pay, NBC South Florida reported.
He appeared in court Wednesday and received a $25,000 bond, according to the outlet.
On the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey, another former police officer is accused of turning a traffic dispute deadly during Tuesday’s evening commute.
Victor Romero, a 62-year-old retired NYPD detective, allegedly shot Con Edison worker Koran Irvine, 46, as their vehicles traveled toward the bridge’s upper level.
Irvine, a father of two, suffered a gunshot wound that entered near his right shoulder and passed out through the left side of his neck.
His blue Volkswagen Golf veered into the median and stopped after the suspected gunfire. He later died at a hospital. Investigators are examining whether road rage prompted the killing.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that Romero apparently fired a single round after maneuvering alongside Irvine’s passenger-side window.
The shot came after an earlier encounter between the vehicles. Irvine’s car had shifted slightly toward Romero’s, while video evidence captured Romero returning to the center lane as both drivers continued across the span. After Irvine’s vehicle abruptly jolted, Romero allegedly left the area.
Wednesday afternoon brought Romero’s surrender at the 33rd Precinct in Upper Manhattan, following investigators’ public interest in questioning him about the homicide.
According to WABC, Romero reportedly admitted to the shooting and turned over a gun to authorities. He was awaiting arraignment Wednesday night.
Police secured his house pending a search warrant, and investigators retained his car.
Romero’s NYPD career had ended roughly 25 years earlier. His final assignment involved narcotics investigations, and he retired on disability after being wounded by a gunman at his family’s coin laundry.
In Phoenix, two officers lost their jobs and were arrested after prosecutors accused them of abusing a couple during an August 5 vehicle stop, then attempting to conceal what happened.
Luis Vasquez Jr. and Antonio Felix allegedly broke the car’s windows late that night in south Phoenix and used force against both occupants.
The encounter left the couple accusing the officers of repeated physical attacks and the use of a Taser.
Vasquez allegedly struck the male driver in his face, head and groin, while Felix was accused of using the electrical weapon against him. The woman, meanwhile, reported being placed in an armbar, shocked and confined inside a patrol vehicle.
According to a police report obtained by the New York Times, Vasquez also threatened the driver with a gunshot while counting down and demanding that he exit the car.
Prosecutors accused one officer of suggesting the man might be killed before warning the woman, “we know where you live now.”
Her release left her without a cellphone or transportation home. AZFamily reported that she walked for more than an hour, while the man eventually drove away.
Investigators suspect officers took the woman’s phone and that it was later lost or destroyed.
The alleged cover-up came into focus when dispatchers questioned Vasquez and Felix about a license plate inquiry connected to a vehicle they maintained they had never stopped.
Investigators contend that denial conflicted with the traffic encounter the officers had conducted the previous night.
The inquiry stemmed from a vehicle discovered by Tempe police at approximately 12:50 a.m. August 6. Officers there sought assistance reaching the registered owner, the male victim’s mother.
Vasquez and Felix assumed responsibility for the requested contact and later maintained that nobody had answered at the address.
Tempe investigators subsequently reached the owner themselves and initially considered whether the vehicle had been taken during a carjacking involving men impersonating officers.
The couple eventually documented their injuries through photographs and obtained medical treatment.
Prosecutors accuse the former officers of exploiting confidential motor vehicle records and their knowledge of police procedures to obstruct scrutiny of the encounter.
Vasquez had served eight years with the Phoenix Police Department and Felix nine before their dismissals.
Both now face criminal counts that include kidnapping, aggravated assault, robbery, evidence tampering and felony assault involving physical restraint.
