A Georgia woman, Loletha Hale, was arrested after trying to move back into her own home, which had been taken over by an alleged squatter.
Hale explained her frustration, saying, “I spent the night on a concrete floor in terrible conditions while this squatter stayed comfortably in my house.”
The conflict began when Hale arrived at her mother’s old home in Livingston on December 9 to clean it out. She had been battling for months to remove the squatter, Sakemeyia Johnson, who wasn’t a tenant but was related to someone connected to a former tenant. Although a court ordered Johnson to leave in November, she was still in the house when Hale arrived.
Hale discovered that Johnson had broken the locks and brought along someone to intimidate her. “She just showed up with this guy, and when I locked the door, he forced his way in, telling us to leave,” Hale told WSB-TV.
When police arrived, they seemed to sympathize with Johnson. One officer, captured on bodycam footage, said, “Think about it—some people don’t have the basics, like a bed or food.”
Hale refused to leave and was arrested. Police accused her of making “terroristic threats” by allegedly saying, “leave before I get my gun.” She was charged with trespassing and threatening Johnson, but Johnson wasn’t charged with anything.
Hale said watching the squatter enter her home while she was taken away in a police car was devastating. “Something is seriously wrong with this situation,” she said.
The trouble began in August when Hale first found Johnson living in the home without permission. Although Johnson was given a squatting citation, a judge ruled that she wasn’t technically a squatter due to her connection to a former tenant’s partner.
Hale fought through several court hearings and finally got a legal eviction order in November. However, Johnson ignored it and stayed in the house.
“How can she not be squatting? I’ve never had any agreement or contract with her,” Hale said.
Squatting has become a growing issue in Georgia. In 2017, there were only three reported cases, but by 2023, the number had risen to 198.