Mesquite police question timeline of homeowner’s squatting complaint
MESQUITE, Texas - Texas lawmakers are asking questions after a Mesquite woman testified about her problems with a squatter.
The homeowner told state senators on Wednesday that her house was taken over for several months last year.
However, the Mesquite Police Department is pushing back with a different timeline of events.
Wednesday, Terri Boyette told a Texas Senate committee in Austin that the incident started in June of 2023. She says the handyman she hired was evicted two months ago.
In a press release sent out Thursday, the Mesquite Police Department says it has no record of a squatting call in 2023.
Boyette's story came to the forefront when she testified at a Texas Senate committee meeting Wednesday. It was a hearing to come up with tougher legislation on squatting.
The hearing showed video Boyette recorded of her home in shambles.
The senators were shocked to hear Boyette's story when she said the police told her this was a civil matter even though she said the squatter was in her vacant home for six months.
But Mesquite PD tells FOX 4 it wasn’t notified about the situation until March 1, 2024, from an anonymous call.
When officers arrived, they made contact with the occupant and noted that they had made contact with him six months earlier as well.
Police say there is eviction paperwork showing Boyette had a landlord-tenant relationship with that occupant based on an oral agreement.
The occupant was evicted in late March and arrested last month for criminal trespass at the home. A warrant was issued against him this month for burglary.
The police department said in a statement, "The Mesquite Police Department and other law enforcement agencies constantly exercise caution when investigating property claims because many disputes fall under civil law… It is the stance of the Mesquite Police Department that all calls regarding Boyette’s residence have been handled appropriately and professionally, with due regard for existing state law."
Lawmakers hope to draft new legislation that will speed up the process that police can determine if someone is squatting.
