Two Texas homeowners were left wondering if they were the bad guys by law enforcement during a two-month ordeal after finally evicting a contractor-turned-squatter from their new home. He said it made him feel like.
Judith Matthews and Abram Mendez, who bought a San Antonio home for their growing family, said they are “relieved” that contractors have finally cleared out the last of their belongings. On Wednesday night, the family gathered to secure and board up their new home to prevent squatters and other intruders from sneaking into their home again.
Until this week’s long-fought victory, they feel “powerless” in a legal system that “takes advantage of homeowners… and the working class” against “entitled” squatters. He said he felt that. Even when our own safety is at risk.
“If I [tried] To protect my home, I [would] Matthews told Fox News Digital: “My heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest. I’m so worried I can’t sleep. What else is going to happen? How much damage is he going to do?”
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Navy veteran Abram Mendez and his wife, Judith Matthews, said they plan to move into a large house in San Antonio, Texas, on Easter. That timeline has been heavily skewed by years of battles with the contractors-turned-squatters. (Yudith Matthews)
Matthews and Mendez told Fox News Digital that the handyman had not completed any of the requested work other than “partially unloading.”
The couple said they paid about $17,000 in damages, utilities and court fees, and emptied the “last actual money” in their accounts. To facilitate legal access, the squatters destroyed new plumbing in the garage, barbecued in propane tanks inside, sprayed the mahogany cabinets with a bleach mixture, and smoked indoors. He is said to have urinated on the man and smashed doors and moldings throughout the house.
The couple said they fell in love with the seven-bedroom, three-bathroom home in a quiet neighborhood and bought it in November. They could not understand why someone would “destroy” unnecessarily.
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Matthews and Mendez said the squatters broke multiple doors and windows in the home to continue accessing the property. (Yudith Matthews)
“Out of malice? To someone you don’t know? Are you planning to take out all the anger in the world on one person?” [Is it] Because you don’t have to pay? They just walk away and there’s no accountability,” Matthews said.
Squatters reportedly bought a blender to keep running all day while in the area and intentionally turned off the new freezer, allowing meat and broken eggs to rot inside. Matthews and Mendez were ordered to restore electricity and water to their home and pay a fine after the squatter and his female accomplice stole water and electricity.
Simply obtaining a warrant of possession (a formal document that property owners post on their front doors to notify tenants or squatters that they will be evicted by police if they do not vacate within 24 hours) can also It costs $300.
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Squatters have shined powerful flashlights into homeowners’ eyes, threatened them with bleach, and even fired knives during repeated confrontations. (Yudith Matthews)
“All they care about is bail, all they care about is bail, and all they care about is fees. They were paying us ‘fees’ to death,” Mendez, a father of three, told FOX. He told News Digital. “As long as squatters are off the street and in someone’s home, it generates legal fees and other income that stimulates the local economy. But that’s all because of hard-working, little-earning, tax-paying housing. The best case is to flip it.”
Had the contractors paid their fees and appealed the judge’s decision, their ordeal could have continued beyond this week, they said. But they say he was “lucky” to arrive late for Tuesday’s court hearing and miss it in time.
The contractor, a man in his 40s who said the couple had gout, asked them to sit on a couch inside the house. They alerted San Antonio police after they noticed he had amassed an alarming amount of belongings inside.
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While the couple and their family supervised, the squatters eventually loaded their belongings, including four guitars with special mounts on their home, into a moving van and moved their car and motorcycle off the property. (Yudith Matthews)
When police were first called to the property on February 29, he had not been in the home for the required 30 days to be considered a squatter under Texas property law, but officers Make no effort to check his counter account or even check his ID.
”[The squatter] “No, I live here,” he said, and the police immediately said, “You’re a resident, you have a right to live here,” Mendez recalled. “The police kept coming and we caught him red-handed.” He may be caught on video, but the police say it’s a civil matter and leave. ”
Matthews and Mendez said they loved the seven-bedroom, three-bathroom home. With its quiet neighborhood, nearby stream, and large garden, the property was the perfect place for him to raise his children, ages 11, 10, and 8. (Yudith Matthews)
“It’s the police,” Mendez said. “The police are giving these people rights that they aren’t entitled to…They don’t care at all because they know the lieutenant will protect them, they don’t want to write a report.”
The couple said they filed a complaint with the San Antonio Police Department after an incident in which officers raised their voices and said they “didn’t have time to respond.”
“When you’re treated like a criminal, you don’t feel like calling the police and it’s very discouraging,” Matthews said.
A video previously aired on “Fox & Friends” showed a couple confronting a squatter who entered their home through a propped window. Since that encounter, the couple has been prohibited from entering the house.
Pictured is a crude propane cooking device used by squatters inside a Texas couple’s home. (Yudith Matthews)
From that point on, legal procedures and real estate research became my full-time job.
“My husband was running around the house, [we are] They take turns supervising the grounds,” Matthews said.[The squatter] So many events and fun things to do with our kids on the weekends are taken away from us and it’s so unfair. Our kids are really stressed out. ”
After seven years as a Navy intelligence officer, many of which included active tours in Asia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Mendez was fortunate to be able to retire. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to cope with the nightmares, he said.
“He decides to keep breaking windows, smashing slates and destroying appliances there. Who is responsible for that?” Matthews asked. (Yudith Matthews)
“What happens to families where mom and dad have to work? What a nightmare,” Matthews said. “Imagine a family working a 9-to-5 job alone, without any support, while dealing with issues like this.”
During one of dozens of visits to the property by San Antonio police, the couple claimed a squatter pointed a knife at them, according to records provided by the department. Matthews and Mendez said that when police arrived, they “kicked a knife into the corner” and “told them they had a right” to carry weapons as tenants of the home.
Pictured are dishes left in the sink after squatters packed up and left this week. (Yudith Matthews)
During multiple confrontations, Matthews claims he shined a high-wattage flashlight in her face and threatened to pour bleach on her.
“We’re fighting for our lives because we don’t have the police, the government, anyone to protect us,” she told Fox News Digital. “We’ve saved up enough money. We’re in our mid-40s and focused on our home. And now someone, due to laziness, has taken decades of our hard earned money from us.” They’re stealing money. That’s it, they’re lazy.”
“We’ve saved up enough money. We’re in our mid-40s and focused on our home. And now someone is being lazy and taking decades of our hard earned money away from us.” I’m stealing money.”
After at least four court appearances and paying a $300 fee, the couple was finally able to get an eviction notice posted on their door. (Yudith Matthews)
SAPD Officer Ricardo Guzman told Fox News Digital that law enforcement’s “hands are tied” in these situations.
“The big thing about these squats is that what’s difficult for us is the rights of the squatters. Once they move in and take possession of the property, even if it’s an abandoned building, It’s their property,” he told FOX News Digital. “There are laws that prevent us from taking their property and throwing it away. So it becomes a civil matter and the owner has to go through the eviction process.”
Unwelcome guests used boards and nails to permanently open some of the windows in the house, through which they entered and exited. (Yudith Matthews)
Although the worst is over for the couple, they are still in the process of obtaining a restraining order against the illegal occupants and taking inventory of damaged and stolen items.
“The law hasn’t helped us,” Mendez said. “It worked out in the end, but after a month we had a bill and a loss. [Now] It’s about more elbow grease, more sanding, more painting, and the police saying, ‘You have the right to stay there.’ By giving, their time was taken up by squatters who had nothing to lose. ”
A photo of rubble left by squatters at the home of Judith Matthews and Abram Mendez. The couple said a contractor installed an additional door in the living room and took it with them when they left the property this week. (Yudith Matthews)
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Fox News Digital was unable to reach the squatter or an attorney who has represented him in previous criminal trials for comment.
