A Georgia homeowner was arrested and charged with a felony after he tried to return to his home, which was reportedly occupied. a squatteraccording to WSB-TV.
“Seeing that woman walk into my mom's house while I'm in the police car, there's something wrong with this picture. There's something wrong with this picture,” the homeowner said. , Loletha Hale. he told WSB-TV.
The incident occurred on December 9, after Hale reportedly returned to his home to clean up after a judge ruled against him in a months-long battle with Sakemeyia Johnson, an alleged entourage.
Police said, according to WSB-TV, that Hale “unlawfully evicted and forcibly removed Mrs. Johnson's property.”
A squatter tries to get into an abandoned house in Central Edmonton. Friday, May 20, 2022, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ((Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
SQUATTERS TAKE SECOND TIME THROWN OUT HOLLYWOOD HILLS MINISTER'S SON OF PHILLIES MONEY.
“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions. While this woman, this brat was sleeping in my house,” Hale told the outlet.
Police confirmed with the judge that Hale did not have a “signed deed,” which would have allowed Hale to legally evict Johnson.
“He just got caught by surprise. He was with this guy, and I locked the door. I locked the screen door, and he forced himself to tell us to get out,” Johnson told police about the incident.
Hale told the news outlet that he thought Johnson had left the home after he was awarded a court victory in November.
Police in South Fulton, Georgia have been arresting squatters since Christmas 2023. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
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“I came back on Monday to start painting and he had broken the keys to my place,” Hale said.
Johnson has not been charged with any crimes, according to WSB-TV.
Georgia saw it the rise in squatter cases brought to court in recent years.
A report by the Pacific Legal Foundation found an increasing trend in squatter cases brought to court starting in 2019. The number of these cases in Georgia has risen from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.
In 2023, there were 198 civil court cases related to squatting in the Peach State, according to the report.
The Clayton County Police Department did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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