Ten squatters have been evicted after illegally occupying a $1 million home in Florida, leaving it damaged and infested with bugs.
The ringleader, Tyrone Jones, was also charged with creating fake identities to become the executor of a Fort Lauderdale estate — and allegedly committed 14 similar crimes and fraudulently obtained more than $12 million worth of property.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office removed seven men, two women and a child from the home that was burglarized last Tuesday. The locks were changed to stop them coming back.
The walls, windows and floor of the $1 million home on Seabreeze Boulevard were completely damaged by the squatters – who allegedly ‘knew the system’ and figured out how to stay in the house before the courts got involved.
They are believed to have been there for over a year.
The squatters even terrorized neighbors on Seabreeze Boulevard, telling a neighbor that they had broken into his house at midnight on February 27, 2022.
The $1 million house (pictured) on Seabridge Boulevard was occupied by 10 squatters. Its walls, windows and floor were completely damaged, authorities said
Criminals allegedly ‘knew the system’ and understood how to stay at home before engaging in court
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office evacuated seven men, two women and a child from the home on Tuesday. The locks were changed to stop them coming back
Tyrone Jones and Kevin Bosley are two guys sitting at home. Jones is said to be the ringleader and is now behind bars. Bosley was first arrested in the middle of the night last year inside a neighboring house. He was moved out of the burglarized home this week
He told CBS Miami: ‘My wife is screaming, there’s someone in our room, and my dog is barking and chasing her. This person in our bedroom, he was at the foot of our bed. He stepped into the room.’
The neighbor said she had spent ‘numbers’ of sleepless nights since living next door to the squatters.
At the time, police arrested Kevin Bosley but he was released and put on an ankle monitor – but they didn’t realize he was living in a burglarized house next door.
He was seen being led out of the home that was burglarized last week, still with his monitor around his ankle.
Speaking about the home, Mike Fisten, an investigator with the Broward Property Assessor’s Office Crimes Against Property team, told CBS Miami: ‘It’s bug infested. The walls are damaged.
‘The floor is damaged. Windows are damaged. The entire area has been completely damaged.’
Marty Kier, the Broward County property appraiser, said of ringleader Jones: ‘He actually rented it out to other people who didn’t own the property.
‘When a person burglarizes a house, not only the property owner is victimized, but the community can be victimized as well.
Photo: Mike Feisten, Broward Property Assessor’s Office Crimes Against Property Team Investigator
Inside the Fort Lauderdale home where 10 people sat
‘In such circumstances a man of the house has been arrested for breaking into a house nearby.
A nearby house owner reached our office. I am glad that the property has now been returned to the property owner.
‘I want to thank the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the Broward Sheriff’s Office for being incredible partners in helping protect our wonderful Broward community.
He says that over the past year, his team has investigated about 200 squatting cases: ‘We started about a year ago, we’ve had about 185 cases and every case is a little different. And in each case, what we do evolves a bit.
‘At the end of the day our underlying mission is to protect the community and hold people accountable.’
It comes after a public school teacher and her family were evicted from a Houston home they had occupied using a fake lease.
Amberlyn Prather, a Houston Public Schools fourth-grade teacher, remained silent as she faced ABC 13 outside eviction court after a judge ordered the family to leave the home at the end of the month.
Prather, who arrived at the property in January when it was vacant and listed for sale, still managed to drag his heels and stay for a few more weeks.
But eventually he was evicted.
Realtor Shenquay Garrett, who is authorized to sell the house, hasn’t been in for months because of the squatters and has been fighting for months to get them removed.
But on June 15, the teacher and her family left the house, which allowed Garrett to go inside and finally figure out how the family got into the house.
Read Full News Here