Current:Home > MarketsSquatter gets 40 years for illegally taking over Panama City Beach condo in Florida -TruePath Finance
Squatter gets 40 years for illegally taking over Panama City Beach condo in Florida
View
Date:2025-04-18 04:46:29
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — A squatter who illegally took over a condo in Florida has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Olandis Hobbs, 37 was sentenced on Tuesday after being found guilty earlier this month of using false documents to take ownership of an approximately $700,000 condo in the Panama City Beach area, according to the State Attorney's Office of the 14th Judicial Circuit.
"I hope this sends a strong message," State Attorney Larry Basford said in a release. "Do not come to Northwest Florida and try to steal people's identifications and/or property by squatting because we will not tolerate this."
Hobbs' sentence includes 25 years for fraudulent use of personal identification information and 15 years for grand theft over $100,000. He also faces 30 years of probation.
During his trial, evidence showed that Hobbs filed fraudulent paperwork in late 2022 with the Bay County Clerk of Circuit Court to transfer ownership of a the condo to himself. The property is legally owned by an 85-year-old woman and her children.
Hobbs has committed similar acts in other places, like New York, and he was sued but never arrested.
"This might be your first significant conviction, but it is a doozy," Judge Dustin Stephenson said, according to the release. "You stole rest from the sunset of someone's life and should be punished for it."
Earlier coverage of this case:Squatter, 37, found guilty of illegally taking ownership of $700,000 PCB condo
Past reports note that after fraudulently taking over the condo, Hobbs changed its locks and notified condo management officials that there had been a change in ownership. The legal owners, who live out of state, were notified of the changes by a maid.
The Panama City Beach Police Department served a search warrant and arrested Hobbs on Jan. 13, 2023.
"The minimum sentence required by law was 10 years," the state attorney's news release reads. "Stephenson said there are matters of forgiveness and matters of justice, and forgiveness is not (his to give, but) justice is."
veryGood! (89)
Related
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- 'Black excellence at its best': Celebrating HBCU marching bands from musicianship to twerks
- Plane carrying Canadian skydivers crash lands in Mexico, killing man on the beach with his wife
- Engagements are set to rise in 2024, experts say. Here's what's driving people to tie the knot.
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Kyle Richards & Mauricio Umansky's Marriage Cracks Are Clearer Than Ever in Bleak RHOBH Preview
- Virginia Utilities Seek Unbridled Rate Adjustments for Unproven Small Modular Nuclear Reactors in Two New Bills
- Beyoncé will grace the cover of Essence magazine
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Deliberations start again in murder trial of former Ohio deputy after juror dismissed
Ranking
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Things to know about the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration
- American Idol Alum Alex Miller’s Tour Bus Involved in Fatal Crash
- Soccer star Megan Rapinoe criticized those who celebrated her career-ending injury
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- YouTuber Twomad Dead at 23
- Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce has a new side hustle — the movies
- Tiger Woods to play in 2024 Genesis Invitational: How to watch, tee times and more
Recommendation
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
Jennifer Lopez's Zodiac-Themed Dress Will Make You Starry Eyed
Matt Damon improvised this line in Ben Affleck's Dunkin' commercial
Maker of Tinder, Hinge sued over 'addictive' dating apps that put profits over love
Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
Man fired from upstate New York hospital pulled over with loaded shotgun near facility
National Archives closes to public after activists dump red powder on case holding Constitution
MIT suspends student group that protested against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza