Georgia homeowner arrested after trying to move back into her house inhabited by squatter
A Georgia homeowner was arrested and charged with criminal trespass after she attempted to move back into her own house, which was reportedly inhabited by a squatter, according to WSB-TV.
"To see that woman walk into my mom’s house while I was in the police car, something is wrong with this picture. Something is inherently wrong with this picture," the homeowner, Loletha Hale, told WSB-TV.
The incident occurred on December 9, after Hale reportedly returned to her house to clean up, after a judge ruled in her favor in a months-long battle with Sakemeyia Johnson, the alleged squatter.
The police said, according to WSB-TV, that Hale "executed an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Ms. Johnson’s belongings."
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"I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions. While this woman, this squatter slept in my home," Hale told the outlet.
The police confirmed with the judge that Hale did not have a "signed writ of possession," which would allow Hale to legally evict Johnson.
"She just caught up out of nowhere. She had this guy with him, and I locked the door. I locked the screen door, and he forced himself in telling us to get out," Johnson told the police of the incident.
Hale told the outlet that she thought Johnson had moved out of the home after she was handed the victory in court in November.
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"I returned on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks at my property," Hale said.
Johnson has not been charged with any crimes, according to WSB-TV.
Georgia has seen an uptick in squatter cases being brought to court in recent years.
A report by the Pacific Legal Foundation found an upward trend in squatter cases being brought to court beginning in 2019. The number of these cases in Georgia rose from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.
In 2023, there were 198 civil court cases involving 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.