A Georgia candidate for state house says that a group of squatters who’d been arrested at his $450,000 home have returned just hours after making bond to escape jail.
Police arrested six squatters who took residence in the home after they stole a neighbor’s car this past Saturday.
South Fulton cops busted the squatters at 4300 Caveat Court and recovered the stolen vehicle on Saturday – after they had been illegally lodging in the home for five months.
Mel Keyton – a Democratic candidate for the state house in Georgia and president of Hampton Oaks Homeowners Association – says they broke back into the house shortly after 1am Monday morning.
‘This is the worst criminal activity I’ve ever seen in my life,’ Keyton said.
Keyton says the problem is that local laws remain on the side of the squatters encouraging them to return.
‘We have to get the police back involved, the city of South Fulton back involved, and we’ll go through the same process again because they are trespassing. They are already aware that the property is supposed to be vacant,’ he told Fox News.
The National Rental Home Council surveyed its members and found that about 1,200 homes in the Atlanta area have had squatters, reported Newsweek.
‘They were just using the legal system to stay in the house,’ he added.
On Saturday, video showed cops putting the intruders in handcuffs and sitting them on the sidewalk outside of the home.
Keyton told Atlanta News First the neighbor whose car was stolen was out of town.
‘Squatters stole her car and they brought it back over here to drive it in the driveway,’ said Keyton.
According to police the home at 4300 Caveat Court, which has a Zillow estimated worth of $518,400, is supposed to be vacant.
Hampton Oaks Homeowners Association Vice President Kendra Snorton told FOX 5 Atlanta the squatters moved into the vacant house on Christmas Day.
‘The ringleader, we see him walking his dog all the time. He’s very courteous and polite when he interacts with the community,’ Snorton said.
The squatters had been living in the community for months but were finally arrested after they stole the car.
‘When the police showed up, the car was behind us in the yard. That’s how we put two and two together,’ Keyton said.
‘We don’t know who these people are and what they are doing.’
The South Fulton Police Department told DailyMail.com the stolen vehicle was returned to its rightful owner.
‘We sincerely appreciate the vigilance of our community members, who play a vital role in our ongoing efforts to reduce crime in our city,’ police said.
Neighbors in South Fulton hope the passage of a new law will make it easier to evict squatters and it will no longer take them committing crimes like stealing vehicles to get them arrested.
‘Hopefully, it won’t get this bad. Hopefully, we won’t have to use this amount of police,’ Keyton said.
Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 1017, known as the Georgia Squatter Reform Act, into law last month. The bill establishes the offense of unlawful squatting, defining it as ‘entering and residing on the land or premises of the owner without consent.’
Offenders will be required to provide authorization of consent within three days, and failure to do so will result in an arrest for criminal trespassing.
If documentation is provided, the accused squatter must attend a magistrate court hearing within seven days to prove that the documents are legitimate.
The new law, which goes into effect in July, makes squatting a misdemeanor offense. Intruders could face a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail, or both.
False swearing and the submission of improper or fraudulent documentation, meanwhile, count as more serious felony charges.
Those who submit fake documents will be subject to fines covering damages, back rent based on the property’s fair market value and up to a year in jail.
