A homeowner in the Atlanta suburbs was arrested for trespassing on his own property as he tried to evict squatters from his home, according to a report from local outlet WSB-TV.
The homeowner, Tim Arko, of DeKalb County, Georgia, reportedly pulled up in the driveway of his house when a stranger pointed a gun at him. Someone had broken into the home days after his previous tenants moved out back in February.
“I just jumped the fence and ran. I didn’t know what else to do,” Arko told the outlet.
“I didn’t walk in on a family eating dinner. I walked in on weapons, a prostitute, a bunch of dogs in the back, my fence broken down,” Arko explained.
After he dialed 911 to report the home intrusion, Arko was taken into police custody.
“They told the police that I was a home invader and that it was their home. And so I ended up being arrested and detained,” Arko said.
Homeowner arrested after trying to evict squatters from his own property https://t.co/M5JhejKt3s pic.twitter.com/Pm34vpYWP2
— New York Post (@nypost) August 16, 2023
Six months later, the squatters who broke into the home are reportedly still living there. After “months” of court delays, the eviction order was signed but he’s waiting on the marshals.
According to the New York Post, two people have died in the residence from overdoses during that time. And, code enforcement cited Arko for not properly maintaining the home, which he can’t access.
"No one likes, you know, being in the court system, but it becomes even worse when it seems broken down,” John Ernst, Arko’s attorney, told the outlet.
The Post noted that in May, a similar incident occurred in Atlanta. An Army officer returned to her home to find a squatter living in her home while she was away on active duty.
“I felt violated. Had I not been serving my country, I would have been in my home,” Lt. Col. Dahlia Daure reportedly said. She was told by police that they could not evict the squatter because it was considered a “civil matter.”
“I want to go shoot out the windows, turn off the water, cut wires, but I can’t. That’s a crime. Law-abiding citizens can’t do that,” Daure said.