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.”
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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.
The homeowner hired the worker to help fix up her home while she was in Florida helping her elderly mother last summer. ABC 8
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.
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“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.
Terri Boyette said for nearly a year, the squatter and the other vagrants made the inside look like a biohazard zone. ABC 8
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.
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But he and other lawmakers plan to put the issue to rest with new legislation.
The repairman had begun squatting in Boyette’s house and allowed other strangers to do so with him. ABC 8She said in June, she contacted the Mesquite police, who explained to her there was nothing they could do to remove the squatters from her residence. ABC 8
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.
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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 its conditions. ABC 8The Mesquite Police Department said that Boyette’s issue has been resolved, and it was “handled appropriately and professionally, with due regard for existing state law.” ABC 8
“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.
Boyette appeared in front of the committee to detail her story with the squatters. Fox 4 DallasTexas State Senator Paul Bettencourt. Fox 4 Dallas
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.
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“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.
Six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar in a Texas city along the southern border on Sunday, officials said.
The bodies were found in a Union Pacific train at a rail yard in Laredo, around 160 miles south of San Antonio, just after 3:30 p.m. local time, said Jose Espinoza, a public information officer with the Laredo Police Department.
The circumstances of their deaths are unknown, said Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza, according to CNN affiliate KGNS, and an investigation is underway.
Union Pacific operates across the border and is the only railroad that services all access points into Mexico, according to the freight company’s website.
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Temperatures on Sunday afternoon in Laredo were in the low-mid 90s, though it’s unclear whether heat was a factor.
Union Pacific said it was saddened by the incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.
Laredo police said they received a call around 3 p.m. from an employee at the Union Pacific rail yard, KGNS reported. The bodies were discovered during a routine rail car inspection, police said. No survivors were found.
CNN has reached out to Laredo police for more information.
“It’s a very early phase of the investigation. There’s not a lot to reveal right now,” Baeza said, KGNS reported.
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The immigration status and ages of the deceased are not yet known, Espinoza said.
US Customs and Border Protection referred CNN to the Laredo Police Department, saying “The incident remains under investigation by Laredo Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation and Texas Rangers.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“It’s a very unfortunate event,” Espinoza told CNN. “It was too many lives that were lost.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources as a massive storm system threatens much of the state with hurricane-force winds, giant hail, and the risk of tornadoes.
Severe weather in Texas
The severe weather, expected to last through Monday morning, covers a vast footprint including West, North, East, Central, and South-Central Texas. Forecasters warned the system could produce wind gusts exceeding 75 mph and hail larger than 2 inches in diameter.
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What they’re saying:
“Texas is prepared to confront the severe storms that pose a threat to communities all across our state,” Abbott said in a statement. He urged Texans to monitor local forecasts and warned motorists never to drive through flooded roadways, invoking the phrase, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”
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Heavy rainfall is expected to be widespread, with some areas potentially seeing isolated totals of 3 to 6 inches, which could lead to significant flash flooding. As the system progresses, the threat is expected to shift toward the South and Southeast Texas coasts.
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In preparation, the governor has deployed a wide array of state assets to assist local officials, including:
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Search and Rescue: Swiftwater and floodwater rescue boat squads and urban search and rescue teams from Texas A&M Task Forces 1, 2, and 3.
Aviation and Marine Support: Helicopters with hoist capabilities from the Department of Public Safety and Texas Parks and Wildlife, as well as Tactical Marine Units.
Infrastructure and Recovery: Texas Forest Service saw crews to clear debris from roads and Department of Transportation personnel to monitor highway conditions.
Medical and Utility Support: Emergency medical task forces with ambulances and all-terrain vehicles, along with monitors from the Public Utility Commission to coordinate power outage responses.
State agencies are also monitoring the state’s natural gas supply and water quality as the storms move through.
Officials encouraged residents to assemble emergency kits and check road conditions at DriveTexas.org before attempting to travel.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Governor Greg Abbott Press Office.
A cruise ship tied to a deadly hantavirus outbreak is expected to dock in Spain within hours after days anchored off the Canary Islands, with officials reporting more than 150 infections and preparing to transfer passengers to a nearby airport for evacuation; among them, 17 Americans will be sent to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska for up to eight weeks of isolation, while two Texans who disembarked before the outbreak was detected are already home and monitoring for symptoms.
