*A Georgia woman was arrested for criminal trespassing after attempting to reclaim her own home, which was occupied by an alleged squatter.
The New York Post reports that despite a court ruling in mid-November ordering Sakemeyia Johnson to vacate, she remained in the house. The homeowner, Loletha Hale, who had assumed Johnson had left, encountered resistance when she arrived to clean out the space but Johnson moved another person into the property to intimidate Hale.
“I returned on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks at my property,” Hale told WSB-TV.
“She just caught up out of nowhere. She had this guy with her, and I locked the door. I locked the screen door, and he forced himself in telling us to get out,” she added.
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When police arrived, they sided with the squatter.
“Just think of it from this perspective, though. Everybody isn’t as fortunate as you to have a bed. All the little things, a bed in their house, food in the kitchen,” one officer told Hale, bodycam footage showed.
When Hale refused to back down, she was taken into custody on December 9, with her arrest report alleging she “executed an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Ms. Johnson’s belongings,” and “could clearly be heard stating ‘leave before I get my gun.’”
The dispute began in August when Hale discovered Johnson living in the home without her permission, sparking a lengthy legal battle. Police stated Hale lacked the necessary legal document, a signed writ of possession, to enforce Johnson’s eviction from her mother’s old home in Livingston. Hale was arrested on Dec. 9 and charged with a misdemeanor count of terroristic threats and criminal trespassing.
Johnson received no charges, 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,” Hale said.
“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions while this woman, this squatter, slept in my home,” Hale added.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: ‘Squatter Squad’ Enforcing Crackdown on Property Intruders in Los Angeles | Watch
