A Louisiana man has taken squatting rights to a whole new level after he was arrested inside a couple’s home he was trying to sell for nearly a quarter of a million dollars last month.
Joseph Guerin was arrested after breaking into an unoccupied Baton Rouge home earlier this week after the owners were notified of an unwanted man on their property.
Guerin was arrested for trespassing after he changed the keys to the house and his utilities were listed under his name, according to WBRZ.
He was released on Monday.
This is the third time the serial squatter has been arrested for trespassing after he was busted by police in April leaving the same Baton Rouge home when the owner first discovered people living illegally in the home.
Richard and Kristen Craven inherited the farmhouse last year after his parents died, and found only an unwanted guest during a routine inspection of the property.
“We are checking it and it has been searched. It’s all blown up,” Craven told the outlet in April.
Guerin was arrested for trespassing after he changed the keys to the house and his utilities were listed under his name.WBRZ
Richard and Kristen Craven inherited the farmhouse last year after his parents died, only to find an unwanted guest during a routine inspection of the property.WBRZ
The couple had planned to refurbish and resell the white brick, four-bedroom house months after taking possession of the property but found it destroyed because of Guerin.
They found the squatters had “moved in” with their own furniture, ripped out the carpets and installed new low-quality tile floors and counter tops, and they had painted everything white — including the windows, to block the view into the house. .
When they first encountered visitors, instead of confronting them, the Cravens kept looking at the house, noting that different people came in and out throughout the day and night — and said the house wasn’t just used for sleeping.
“Drug use, drug dealing, I don’t know if he rented out rooms to women,” Richard Craven said.
The couple had planned to refurbish and resell the white brick, four-bedroom house months after taking possession of the property but found it destroyed because of Guerin. WBRZ
Problems escalated until Guerin listed the property online for $225,000.
When they initially reported the problem to authorities, police said it was a civil matter because both Craven and the squatter provided documents showing they were the rightful owners, with Guerin allegedly showing property tax information under his name.
“The police won’t show me the paperwork he has,” Richard Craven said. “I’ve told them whatever he has, must be faked.”
When they initially reported the problem, police said it was a civil matter because both Craven and the squatter provided documents showing they were the rightful owners. WBRZ
They found the squatters had “moved in” with their own furniture, torn up the carpet and installed new tile floors and counter tops that were not “quality.”WBRZ
In their latest encounter with Guerin, the Cravens were alerted by a neighbor who told them, “You’ve got a friend over there, that Joey guy is back.”
Although Louisiana law does not make it illegal, a person must possess the property peacefully for 10 uninterrupted years in good faith and with only title, or for 30 years without title or good faith.
“I’m not going to let criminals come into the house and take control,” Craven said. “It’s as simple as that. So it’s more than getting control. He will go. He will go.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
