Texas
Texas homeowner claims squatter who sold furniture in yard sale was repairman hired off TikTok as lawmakers blame police
The Texas woman whose home was turned into a squatter’s “drug den” and sold her furniture in a yard sale said she hired the man as a recommended repairman from TikTok.
Terri Boyette appeared in front of a Texas Senate committee on Wednesday to reveal the horrors she faced while trying to remove the vagrants from her home.
“This is burglary. This is breaking and entering,” said Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt, the committee chairman, according to Fox 4 Dallas.
“He was selling your possessions on your front lawn. I am outraged. This should not happen in Texas, and it will never happen again after we get this bill passed.”
Boyette’s nightmare started when she fired the worker off the social media platmore last June to make repairs on her home while she cared for her elderly mother in Florida, according to WFAA.
While away, the repairman began squatting in Boyette’s Mesquite home, about 14 miles from Downtown Dallas, and allowed other strangers to do so with him.
A painter had broken in and wrecked the place, leaving crack pipes in her oven and needles in a drawer, Boyette told The Post in March.
For nearly a year, they turned her home into a biohazard zone, with police telling her they were unable to resolve the issue.
In December, a judge finally granted an eviction notice to remove the worker from the home, but with the holidays approaching, the judge extended the squatter’s appeal by 30 days.
“She didn’t want him to be homeless over the holidays, which left me homeless over the holidays,” Boyette told WFAA.
Once the suspected squatter knew he would be evicted from the home, he started selling off her washer, dryer, refrigerator and dining room table.
The alleged squatter was served with his final eviction notice on Feb. 6 and was formally evicted on March 20.
But as it nears a year since the repairman and others began living in the home, Boyette said she’s still been unable to move back in due to the havoc and disarray left behind by multiple vagrants
Boyette’s Mesquite home was one of 475 such squatter cases in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, according to Bettencourt.
But he and other lawmakers plan to put the issue to rest with new legislation.
Bettencourt found that Texas, like many other states, does not clearly define a squatter or what a homeowner can legally pursue to define a person as such in court.
He has since launched the committee to find an answer for the legal loopholes many vagrants use to shack up in homes they don’t pay rent on or illegally enter and claim to be tenants.
Sen. Royce West, one of the legislators who sits on the committee, asked Boyette why the Mesquite Police Department wasn’t able to remove the squatters.
Boyette detailed how police left her high and dry for months, and the issue was only resolved after months of back-and-forth in the courts.
“I called the police. They said, ‘How long has he been there?’ I said about two weeks. They said this is a civil matter,” she told the committee.
Boyette revealed the alleged squatter returned to the home in April, banging on the door and demanding to enter.
The man was later arrested on a criminal trespass complaint.
“It makes no sense. No sense at all. I am starting to get outrageous as well,” West proclaimed. “I want to know from Mesquite PD what they don’t understand about the statute.”
“They said because no one was living there,” Boyette told the senator.
“That’s a bunch of crap,” he replied about the ineptitude of law enforcement.
Legislators from both parties have demanded answers from the police.
Bettencourt has requested the Mesquite Police Department to attend their next meeting to explain why the man was not removed from the home.
Texas
Texas man fights to reunite with his family after he says they were unexpectedly deported
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Texas
Texas basketball: Longhorns open final stretch of non-conference play with a blowout win
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
Back at Moody Center for just the second time this month, No. 6 Texas crushed La Salle in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.
Senior forward Taylor Jones recorded her third double-double performance of the season, and Kyla Oldacre and Justice Carlton respectively scored 18 and 17 points in a 111-49 victory. With two games left until its Southeastern Conference opener, Texas is now 11-1.
The Longhorns will next host South Dakota State (10-2) on Sunday afternoon.
“We’ve got a monster on Sunday. South Dakota State is really good and well-coached. They’re always an NCAA tournament team. They win their league every year. So we’ve got to sharpen up a little bit and be ready on Sunday,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “My concern on Sunday is that my kids are going to have one foot out the door ready for Christmas break, and sometimes you can do that against the three-name directional school. You (can’t) get away with that on Sunday.”
The 62-point win was the second-most lopsided victory of UT’s season, but the game was competitive in the first quarter. La Salle (6-6) even led twice before the first media timeout was called.
During that first quarter, Texas leaned on the depth it has often boasted about but not always used this season. Eleven Longhorns played in the first quarter, and Schaefer made his first substitutions less than three minutes into the game.
Reserve guard Jordana Codio, who had not played in a first half this season, gave UT a lead it wouldn’t relinquish when she sank a 3-pointer with 5:38 left in the frame. A junior, Codio finished with seven points over a career-high 17 minutes.
“That was the game plan,” Schaefer said. “Jordana’s had four really good days, she’s earned it. … She’s doing what Shay had to do her first few years. She’s over there on the men’s practice team, and she dominated our team. So she deserved the opportunity. She came in and did exactly what we needed, which was give us some juice.”
Texas exited the first half with a 19-12 advantage and then outscored La Salle by a 38-9 margin in the second quarter. The Longhorns’ lead swelled to as many as 67 points in the second half.
While playing just 14 minutes, Jones scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the undersized Explorers. Jones and fellow post players Oldacre and Carlton led Texas to a 70-14 advantage in paint points. The Longhorns also got a combined 21 points and 11 assists from point guards Rori Harmon and Bryanna Preston while All-American forward Madison Booker had 10 points and six rebounds.
Aryss Macktoon and Ivy Fox each scored seven points to lead La Salle.
Before Tuesday’s game, members of the UT basketball team received rings to celebrate the championship they won at last season’s Big 12 tournament. Nine players remain from that team.
Texas
Texas electors cast ballots for Trump, Vance on Tuesday
Members of the Texas Electoral College met at the state capitol building in Austin on Tuesday to cast their 40 electoral votes for president.
The office of Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson reported all 40 electoral votes were cast for President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The vote, the secretary’s office said, reflects “the will of the Texas voters in the 2024 General Election.”
Nelson presided over the proceedings in the Texas House Chamber. In an address to the electors, Nelson emphasized the historical significance of their duty.
“Today, you join a distinguished line of Texans who have served as electors—a role vital to the strength of our democracy,” Nelson said. “This event marks the culmination of months of effort to ensure free, fair, and secure elections.”
The event was broadcast live through Texas House media and can be watched here.
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