Mentally-ill man broke into property, scared off tenants

[Dev Roy]

Wondering if anyone has dealt with mentally-ill people and courts and could advise me. Some background . . . my husband and I bought a row-home from an elderly woman in 2006. We lived there for a little over 12 years and then moved out in 2018 and started renting out the row-home to another family. From 2018 to spring of 2020 everything was fine. The tenants were happy and loved the property and just renewed their lease. Then Covid happened and a mentally-ill man started showing up at the property. 

He was released from a mental hospital due to Covid. He is the son of the elderly woman we bought this home from back in 2006 and this was his childhood home. If the door was open he would just walk in and go upstairs and even stripped down and got into my tenant's bed! My tenants started locking their door and a month later he kicked the door in. Police were called both times, reports were taken but this time he was taken into police custody. In the meantime, my tenant broke the lease and said they didn't feel safe and moved out in July and my husband and I completely understood.

The property was vacant in August as we talked to the District Attorney's office and secured the property with a new door, security camera, etc. We found another tenant quickly who was supposed to move in September. We were honest about the situation and they were understanding and wanted to move in with eyes wide open. A week before September this man was released from prison for good behavior and told the judge he would not enter the property and realized that it is not his home anymore and other people live there. A day after his release he shows up again, throws a brick through the front first-floor window and climbs in. (This was all caught on our own camera and a neighbor's security camera which we shared with the District Attorney's office). Neighbor's called us and the cops and when the cops showed up the mentally-ill man opened the door like he lived there. He is clearly out of his mind! He was cooperative and got into the police vehicle and has been in custody since September. He has a bail of $25,000 but can get out at any time if he can produce $2,500. The Courts are only hearing about 50 cases a day and they are prioritizing murder, attempted murder, shooting, sexual assault cases, and violent crime. This case is a felony case but is non-violent. The Victim's Services coordinator we have been talking to sees very little chance of this being listed for a preliminary hearing before the new year. We are at the mercy of the Courts.

In the meantime we are in limbo. Our new tenants who were supposed to move in September, broke their lease after the last break in. We can’t rent it out again until this issue is resolved. In the meantime we have to pay the mortgage out of pocket. This is a huge financial strain for us. We can’t even sell the house in good conscience for fear he’ll attack or harass the new owners.

We live in Philadelphia. Any advice? Has anyone dealt with a situation like this before?