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 go into my mother's house while I'm in my patrol car. There's something inherently wrong with this photo.” said Loretha Hale, the homeowner. 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.
“I spent the night in horrible conditions on a mat on a concrete floor while this woman, this squatter, slept in my house,” Hale told the magazine. spoke.
Police confirmed to the judge that Mr. Hale did not have a “signed warrant of possession” to legally evict Mr. Johnson.
“She followed me out of nowhere. She had a guy with her, so I locked the door. When I locked the screen door, he forced us to leave. ” Johnson told police about the incident.
Ms Hale told the outlet that she thought Ms Johnson had left the house after she was declared victorious in court in November.
“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 cases in Georgia increased from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.
According to the report, there were 198 civil tort cases in the Peach State in 2023.
The Clayton County Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
