Taking over empty houses, throwing parties and refusing to vacate/Reuters
"Trespassers are invading empty homes and destroying entire neighborhoods in Atlanta. The police response is so slow that some homeowners prefer to pay them large sums of money to get them to leave," this was published today (Wednesday) on the American news site, the New York Post, which also added that it was no less Of the 1,200 cases reported in recent years in Atlanta alone.
These are empty houses in the city of Atlanta in the state of Georgia, which are available for rent for a certain period, and whose owners live in other cities and are not in the area.
The squatters learn about the condition of the property from online listings and real estate agents who advertise the homes online, making it easier for squatters to identify vacant properties to break into.
Simon Frost, CEO of a large Atlanta home management company, said there have been cases of illegal tenants wielding tools Weapons and threats to neighbors who quarreled with them, and even recently one of his employees was shot after trying to evict intruders from a property.
Furthermore, the article reported, that in some cases the invaders turn the houses they take over into drug dens, gambling houses and strip clubs, when they throw huge parties and terrorize the neighbors on the street.
One of the neighbors told The Post that they are afraid to even go on vacation, because if the intruders discover that their house is vacant, they simply move in.
The article shows that trespassing is not a crime in itself.
In most cases where there is no proof of the existence of illegal activity, the police do not handle the claims against the trespassers, arguing that their hands are tied and it is a "civil matter" that must be handled through a lawsuit.
The intruders did the killing, until the SWAT team arrived on the scene
Last October, Atlanta found itself at the center of a scandal that involved squatters turning a home into an illegal strip club, with parties and even several horses found on the property.
The drama took place in a private residence in the South Fulton area, where four people lived without permission, ran a secret strip club, held parties and even organized car races in the street, actually destroying the neighborhood until the SWAT team eventually had to evacuate the house.
The team found two stolen cars, a stolen weapon and stolen credit cards there, according to the local report.
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