What a bum! Your house is my house.
Posted on 10/22/2004 7:47:26 PM PDT by timestax
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. -- A woman came home from vacation to find a stranger living there, wearing her clothes, changing utilities into her name and even ripping out carpet and repainting a room she didn't like, authorities said.
Douglas County authorities say they can't explain why Beverly Valentine, 54, broke into an empty home and started acting like it was her own.
During the 2 1/2 weeks the owner, Beverly Mitchell, was on vacation in Greece, Valentine allegedly redecorated the ranch home, ripping up carpet and taking down the owner's pictures and replacing them with her own.
Mitchell was a complete unknown to Valentine, said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Stan Copeland. He said he had no idea how Valentine knew Mitchell was gone.
"In 28 years, I've never seen something this strange," Copeland said.
Valentine was being held in Douglas County Jail on a $25,000 bond, Copeland said. If convicted, she could face one to 20 years in prison. Copeland said Friday that he believed Valentine did not have a lawyer.
The case came to light when Mitchell, who lived alone, returned home Oct. 4 to find the lights on and a strange car parked in the driveway. Mitchell called police, who went in and found Valentine, who at first pretended she was renting the home.
Later, Copeland said, she admitted she broke into the house with a shovel and was squatting there. She was charged with burglary.
Authorities found a gun and $23,000 worth of Mitchell's jewelry in Valentine's car.
Valentine had the electricity switched over to her name and moved in a washer and dryer and her dog.
Copeland said she was even wearing some of Mitchell's clothes.
"There's a lot of people saying, 'What?"' Copeland said.
Valentine was asked what to do with the washer and dryer she moved in, and Valentine said she didn't care, so police will leave it up to Mitchell what to do with them, Copeland said.
Yeah -- they've already promoed it for the 11PM newscast -- I'm looking for it.
I've heard of someones identity being stolen...
...but this is taking the concept to an extreme!
We did this once.
...but that was in a Dungeons and Dragons game. (Our characters didn't feel like camping out anymore, so they stole a house.)
Private property - it's so bougeois, you know.
Including me.
What a bum! Your house is my house.
What is so strange about that? Kerry/Edwards and the DNC are stealing votes all over the coutry. She must have assumed that all laws regarding right and wrong have been revoked.
twilight zone ping
Yeah, we've had some weird people move in to our apartment building laundry rooms from time to time but this takes the cake.
Indeed. Very strange. Now, why would Beverly Valentine break into Beverly Mitchell's home?
LOL! It sure does look like Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Socialist ideals strike again. We don't really "own" property we share everything.
BBBWWAAAAAHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
My husband said she's welcome to move into a condo we own and rent out... it needs a new carpet and some redecorating. LOL
Have you ever heard two women scream, and I mean really scream?
Clark was absolutely flabbergasted (as was I - did this woman think that the owner would never come back?) and said he would get working on it.
Apparently he woke some people up - the lady originally said the police weren't too interested. (I find that hard to believe - Douglas County is well known around here as a strict law-and-order locale. I think what's more likely is that the police were as flabbergasted as everyone else and weren't quite sure where to start.)
One point Clark Howard made is, how did this squatter find out the owner was going to be gone? He thinks she must have had some confederates.
Another odd thing is that this crook threw out a lot of the owner's stuff - and won't say where she took it to. Very very weird.
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