Squatters who seized a Washington state property during the coronavirus pandemic were finally driven out by a SWAT team this week only to return to the property shortly after, according to the property’s owner.
Approximately 30 officers participated in Wednesday’s raid on a Lynnwood, Wash., property that had been occupied by squatters as part of a stolen vehicle smuggling investigation. Police say 52 cars, some of them stolen, were found on the property, along with drugs and firearms. KIRO 7 News reported.
The property owner and neighbors told the outlet that they have been dealing with squatters for several years, since the height of the coronavirus pandemic when the state and federal governments banned evictions.
“A group of criminals,” said Laleh Kashani, the owner of the property. “They took over the house and we couldn’t collect a dollar in rent and have a mortgage.”
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A Washington state woman says squatters quickly returned to her property after police evicted them. (KIRO News 7)
Shortly after the property was cleared, the squatters allegedly returned to the site despite Kashani having a contractor change the locks after the raid.
“We changed the locks and they even broke that. So they should at least be arrested for breaking in, and they didn’t,” Kashani explained.
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Washington property owner says she could leave state after squatters seized her property (KIRO News 7)
Lt. David Hayes of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet that 5 arrests were made during the raid and that “multiple people” were living on the property both “short term and long term” who “did not own property” and they lived in “unsanitary and unstable conditions”.
Fox News Digital spoke with Lt. Hayes, who said making sure squatters don’t come back is “very much up to the property owner.”
“The sheriff’s office will respond to complaints from property owners that people have returned, and if we have the ability to legally remove people from the property, we will,” Hayes said. “What it can take for the property owner is to go and get a court order to get people off there and often that’s necessary.”
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Police in Washington say the removal of the squatters is a civil matter that must be handled by the courts. (KIRO News 7)
Hayes said he has “no personal knowledge” that trespassers have trespassed on the property and has not heard that from police, but has seen reports indicating that is the case. Hayes could not confirm that the problem has been going on for several years, but acknowledged that the owner is in a “very bad situation.”
“We don’t know who has the legal right to be on the property and who doesn’t,” Hayes continued. “And that’s really kind of unfortunate and it’s not unique to Washington state from what I understand, but when it comes to Landlord-Tenant Law and the civil aspect of tenure or residence, the police can’t just go out on a property and say, yes, you belong here and no.
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Laleh Kashani says the squatter situation has brought her to tears (KIRO News 7)
Kashani says that the frustration over the years is bringing her to tears, and that she is considering leaving the state altogether.
“I literally cry,” she told the outlet. “I’m going to give up, I’m going to lose my house. Whatever we owe, let the bank take it.”
