Squatters have occupied homes across the nation this year, resulting in drawn-out legal battles and thousands of dollars in damages.
Florida, Georgia, Alabama, West Virginia, and New York all passed laws this year to restrict squatting, strengthen criminal penalties, or permit lengthy eviction proceedings in court after a string of high-profile squatter cases.
The Queens District Attorney claims that on February 29, after Adele Andaloro had changed the locks on her $1 million Queens, New York, home, Brian Rodriguez pushed his way back in while she was trying to keep the door closed.
In New York, it is illegal to turn off utilities, change locks, or remove the belongings of someone claiming to be a tenant, so when he claimed to be a valid renter and Andaloro tried to legally evict him, police were forced to remove Andaloro from the property.
She had no choice except to present her case to the Queens District Attorney, who opened a probe. Rodriguez was eventually taken into custody and entered a not guilty plea to a five-count indictment two months after Andaloro was handcuffed by police on her own property.
Second-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree criminal trespassing, and fourth-degree criminal mischief are among the charges against Rodriguez, 35. The criminal case against him is still pending even after he was removed from Andaloro’s house.
When Nadia Vitel, a mother from New York, found a couple of young squatters living in her Manhattan apartment in March, they allegedly beat her to death.
On March 14, as Fox News Digital previously reported, Vitel, 52, was found dead in a duffel bag buried beneath a heap of clothes in her apartment on the 19th floor of East 31st Street by her son. At the scene, her pet puppy was by herself.
Prosecutors claim that Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensley Alston, 18, stomped on Vitel and stuffed her into the bag while she was still alive, then drove away from the scene into Pennsylvania in Vitel’s Lexus SUV.
The two used Vitel’s credit cards to go shopping before being caught nine days later. They bought clothes, food, a PlayStation 5, AirPods, and a diamond ring, according to a press release from District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
According to their charges, Tejada and Alston were accused of grand theft, illegal possession of stolen items, robbery, second-degree murder, and concealing a human corpse.
Squatters have even taken over residences in Wyoming, the state with the fewest residents in the union. After her own terrifying encounter, Ronna Boril, who has been selling real estate in the state for 50 years, played a key role in passing new anti-squatter laws.
She told Fox News Digital that when she kicked out a previous permitted tenant from her home for nonpayment, she started fighting with squatters.
She clarified, “I assumed the property was unoccupied.” When I heard footsteps as I was entering the property, I wondered, “What the heck?”
At the top of the steps, she saw a large, unidentified man.
“Who are you and why are you on this property?” he asks. Boril remembers. “Who are you and why are you on this property?” I questioned. I could pose the same question to you.
“All of a sudden, like cockroaches, men were emerging from every corner of the house,” Boril said.
Five more men came out and said they had a lease on the house, but they couldn’t produce any paperwork. The Casper building has been hers since the 1980s, according to Boril.
She promised to go back to the police in the morning, but the sheriff’s office and the local police told her that they were unable to help and that she would need to take the case to civil court.
I came back the following morning with a big guy. They vanished as soon as we unlocked. However, she said that the room was completely wrecked, with dirty mattresses, clothes, needles, and drug paraphernalia all over the place. I started clearing the property of rubbish. My expenses ranged from $15,000 to $18,000.
She then called Jim Anderson, a state lawmaker. Both were taken aback to see that squatting was not just found in coastal areas like New York and California.
The Joint Judiciary Committee of the state legislature passed the Wyoming law 10–4, and now the entire Senate needs to approve it. Should the law be approved, squatting that causes property damage would be considered a felony, carrying a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Two Texas homeowners said that during the two-month battle, police officers mistreated them after finally evicting a contractor who had transformed into a squatter from their new home.
In the face of a legal system that favors landowners and the working class over entitled squatters, even when their safety was jeopardized, Yudith Matthews and Navy veteran Abram Mendez, who purchased the San Antonio property to accommodate their expanding family, felt helpless.
The handyman asked to stay on a couch inside the house when the couple hired him to fix their new house. They called the San Antonio Police Department after discovering that he had amassed a startling collection of possessions inside.
When police were called on February 29, he had not been in the residence for the 30 days needed to be classified as a squatter under Texas property law. However, the couple says authorities did not even try to check his identification or confirm his opposing account.
Two months later, following a protracted court battle and several altercations, the married couple evicted the squatter. They claimed that the remaining real funds in their account were used up by spending about $17,000 on damages, utilities, and legal costs.
Authorities trying to remove the boats and squatters claim that squatters are moving into abandoned boats scattered around Florida’s shoreline at an increasing rate.
In January, Lt. Michael Dougherty of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office told local media, “We’ve actually seen a tremendous increase throughout the county.” There have been multiple incidents where the boats have come loose and crashed into the docks, and you will see vagrants squatting on the boat and it collapsing.
Authorities say homeless individuals are increasingly occupying abandoned boats that have been left to rust along the Florida shore, a problem the Martin County Sheriff’s Office has long dealt with. Situated on the southeast coast of Florida, the county is home to several cities, including Jensen Beach and Jupiter Island.
Chief Deputy John Budensiek told Fox News that one consequence of having so many vessels in our area is that some of them have a tendency to become severely damaged and unusable. Additionally, some of these owners will sell them to someone who won’t re-register the vessel or abandon them once they become unusable. These people then continue to live on these boats or run them until they are completely unusable. They are a major threat to our ecosystem since they sink, leak fuel if they are able to carry it, or leak human waste.
Source
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!
Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.