Monday, December 23, 2024

Squatter Gets Homeowner Arrested and Charged with 'Criminal Trespass' in Georgia

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A Georgia homeowner was arrested and charged with trespassing after she attempted to return to her own home, which was allegedly inhabited by a squatter.

“Seeing that woman enter my mom's house while I was in the police car, something is wrong in this image. Something is inherently wrong with this picture,” homeowner Loletha Hale told WSB-TV.

The incident occurred on December 9, after Hale reportedly returned to his home to clean up after a judge ruled in his favor in a months-long battle with Sakemeyia Johnson, the alleged squatter.

Police said, according to WSB-TV, that Hale “executed an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Ms. Johnson's belongings.”

“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions. “While this woman, this squatter was sleeping in my house,” Hale told the outlet.

Police confirmed with the judge that Hale did not have a “signed possession order” that would allow him to legally evict Johnson.

“She just realized out of nowhere. He had this guy with him and I closed the door. I closed the screen door and he forced himself to tell us to get out,” Johnson told police about the incident.

Hale told the outlet that he thought Johnson had moved out of the house after he was awarded victory in court in November.

“I came back on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks on my property,” Hale said.

Johnson has not been charged with any crime, according to WSB-TV.

Georgia has seen an increase in squatting cases brought to court in recent years.

A report from the Pacific Legal Foundation found an upward trend in squatter cases brought to court starting in 2019. The number of these cases in Georgia increased from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.

In 2023, there were 198 civil court cases involving squatters in the Peach State, according to the report.

The Clayton County Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

(FOX NEWS)

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