JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman accused of squatting in a Jacksonville home more than a year ago is now facing criminal charges.
The woman, who seemingly disappeared after being evicted, was arrested in Duval two weeks ago on misdemeanor trespass and criminal mischief charges. She appeared in court for an arraignment Wednesday.
Records show she was arrested on April 15 and spent two days in jail before being released on a $10,000 bond.
News4JAX learned Wednesday that a warrant for her arrest was issued in June of 2023.
Please note that News4JAX is not naming the woman as these are misdemeanors for which she has not been convicted.
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In March 2023, body camera footage and a report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office shows two women moved into Patti Peeples’ vacant rental property.
The woman who was arrested claimed she and her girlfriend were victims of a rental scam, which was the same thing she claimed when they were discovered living in a nearby house a few months earlier. They were evicted soon before moving into Peeples’ property.
An officer who responded after Peeples discovered the women at her property told Peeples that, upon reviewed their history at the other house, he suspected a squatting scam but said he couldn’t remove them, as the case would have to go through the civil court system, which can take weeks.
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More than a year later one of the women was arrested, charged with misdemeanor and trespass and criminal mischief after spending more than a month living in the house rent-free.
After court Wednesday, News4JAX asked the woman if she had anything to say to the people whose houses she stayed in. She responded: “Unfortunately, that wasn’t me.”
Her name is documented in incident reports from the sheriff’s office.
Standing across from the defendant, Peeples addressed the court at the hearing Wednesday.
“I am the victim of this young woman and another who squatted in my home and did about $38,000 worth of damage. They stole major appliances,” Peeples said.
Warrants for trespass and criminal mischief were signed in June of 2023, showing the defendant told police she wasn’t aware of the extensive damage to the house and missing appliances, but three windows were broken on accident.
Peeples said she feels like justice is being served.
“Time will tell what the charges are against her once we go back to court and go through the arraignment for these two specific charges and seek the damages. That will be the final cherry on top,” Peeples said.
When News4JAX asked the woman if she felt any remorse, she responded: “Have a wonderful day beautiful.”
Peeples’ story inspired the unanimous passage of a state law. However, these charges are separate from that new law.
That law goes into effect July 1, and it will close the loophole that has allowed scammers, who falsely claim they were the ones who were scammed, to live at a property rent-free as it goes through the civil court system, which can take weeks. With these changes to state law, property owners will be able to direct law enforcement to remove someone from their house immediately if they’ve never had a lease there and refuse to leave.