Georgia State House candidate Mel Keyton says he’s in the middle of an ongoing chaotic saga as squatters took over a $450K home in his Atlanta-area neighborhood, even coming back after being arrested and bonding out of jail.
“This is the worst criminal activity I’ve ever seen in my life,” the Hampton Oaks Homeowners’ Association president and Democratic candidate told “Fox & Friends First” on Monday.
The squatters’ latest offense came as recently as earlier that morning when they broke into the house shortly after 1 a.m.
The six offenders had already been located and arrested after police noticed a neighbor’s stolen car parked in front of the home. Two received felony charges and the remaining four were charged with trespassing. Following their release, the fight continues.
“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,” Keyton said.
He insists the law is on the squatters’ side as co-host Todd Piro noted the alleged trespassers have remained in the home since before Christmas.
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“They were just using the legal system to stay in the house,” Keyton added.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed the Georgia Squatter Reform Act into law, enabling property owners to go after squatters for damages, in addition to speeding up the eviction process.
Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt, reporting on the act last month, said it would make squatting a misdemeanor criminal defense, punishable by a year in jail. She also noted that squatters could face a $1,000 fine, sometimes in addition to possible jail time — and if they forge a fake lease, they could be charged with a felony.
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Prior to Kemp’s signature, squatting was a civil matter in Georgia.
The problem rose to an epidemic in the Peach State, with Bloomberg reporting earlier this year that over 1,200 metro Atlanta homes had been taken over by squatters.
Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misidentified Keyton as the owner of the home taken over by squatters.
