A Georgia homeowner was arrested and charged with trespassing after attempting to return to his home where squatters were allegedly living, according to WSB-TV.
“There's something inherently wrong with this photo when I see that woman walk into my mother's house while I'm in the police car. There's something inherently wrong with this photo. '' said homeowner Loretha Hale. told WSB TV.
The incident occurred on Dec. 9, after Hale returned to her home to clean up after a judge ruled in her favor in a months-long battle with alleged squatter Sakemeia Johnson.
Police said Hale “performed an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Johnson's belongings,” according to WSB-TV.
Squatters attempt to enter an abandoned building in central Edmonton. Friday, May 20, 2022, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ((Photo credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto, Getty Images))
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“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in horrible conditions while this woman, this squatter, slept in my house,” Hale told the magazine.
Police confirmed to the judge that Mr. Hale did not have a “signed warrant of possession” to legally evict Mr. Johnson.
“She caught up to me out of nowhere,” Johnson told police. “She had a guy with her, so I locked the door, I locked the screen door, and he told us to leave.” “I forced myself to do that,” he told police about the incident.
Hale told the outlet in November that she thought Johnson had left the house after she was declared victorious in court.
Police in South Fulton, Georgia, have detained a squatter on suspicion of confining him in his home since Christmas 2023. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
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“When I came back to start painting on Monday, she had broken the lock to my property,” Hale said.
Johnson has not been charged with any crime, according to WSB-TV.
Georgia has seen an increase in illegal occupancy cases brought to court in recent years.
A report by the Pacific Law Foundation found that the number of squatting cases brought to court has been on the rise since 2019. The number of such lawsuits in Georgia increased from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.
According to the report, there were 198 civil cases related to illegal occupation in the Peach State in 2023.
Clayton County Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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