A Georgia homeowner was arrested and charged with criminal trespass after attempting to move back into her own home, which was allegedly occupied by a squatteraccording to WSB-TV.
“To see that woman walk into my mother’s house while I was in the police car, there’s something wrong with this photo. There’s something inherently wrong with this photo,” said homeowner Loletha Hale. told WSB-TV.
The incident occurred on December 9, after Hale reportedly returned to her home to clean up after a judge ruled in her favor in a months-long battle with Sakemeyia Johnson, the alleged squatter.
Police said, according to WSB-TV, that Hale “conducted an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Ms. Johnson’s belongings.”
A squatter tries to break into an abandoned home in Central Edmonton. Friday, May 20, 2022 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ((Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
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“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in terrible conditions. While this woman, this squatter, slept in my house,” Hale told the outlet.
Police confirmed with the judge that Hale did not have a “signed warrant for possession,” which would allow Hale to legally deport Johnson.
“She just came out of the blue and caught up. She had a guy with her 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 newspaper she believed Johnson had left the house after winning in court in November.
Police in South Fulton, Georgia, have been holding squatters in a house since Christmas 2023. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
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“I came back on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks on my property,” Hale said.
According to WSB-TV, Johnson has not been charged with any crimes.
Georgia saw it In recent years there has been an increase in the number of squatter cases being brought to court.
A report by the Pacific Legal Foundation shows that from 2019 there has been an increasing trend in the number of squatter cases being brought to court. The number of these cases in Georgia has increased from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.
According to the report, there were 198 civil lawsuits over squats in the Peach State in 2023.
The Clayton County Police Department did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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