Six squatters take over suburban Georgia home, then help themselves to vacationing neighbor’s car: cops

Police in Georgia rounded up a half dozen squatters who were bedding down in a $450,000 suburban home for months — after tracing a neighbor’s stolen car to their driveway.

The six intruders, who moved into the empty house at 4300 Caveat Court on Christmas Day, had long become a nuisance in the neighborhood, local residents told WANF-TV News.

“They buy these homes, and the people say they can afford them. They do the paperwork, and they’re supposed to buy it back from the company,” said Mel Keyton, president of the Hampton Oaks Homeowners Association. “They never buy it back.

“They leave the house vacant, squatters move in,” Keyton said. “We don’t know who these people are and what they’re doing.”

Keyton said the squatters broke into another empty home in the neighborhood while the owners were out of town and stole their car.

Cops caught up with the crew on Saturday and placed them in handcuffs.

“Not knowing who’s living amongst us, it really makes you feel uneasy and you just don’t feel safe,” association vice president Kendra Snorton told Fox affiliate WAGA-TV. “You don’t feel safe.

“The ringleader, we see him walking his dog all the time,” Snorton said. “He’s very courteous and polite when he interacts with the community.”

Saturday’s arrests come in the wake of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signing the Georgia Squatter Reform Act on April 24, which gives homeowners more authority to boot unwanted squatters.

“Hopefully it won’t get this bad,” Keyton told WAGA of the squatter dilemma. “Hopefully we won’t have to use this amount of police.”