Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
LAPLACE, La. (WGNO) — “Can you imagine going home and somebody tells you to get off my property, which is your rightful home, and will actually physically challenge you for fighting for your home” said St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre.
That is precisely what happened to Laplace homeowner Shane Mulkey, whose stately home has been under construction since Hurricane Ida and just weeks ago was accosted by the man police identified as Lewis Giles Jr.
“They’d already broken into the house. They were in the process of changing the doorknobs. They had all their tools out soon as they came around the glass, I realize I didn’t recognize them I pulled out my phone and started recording,” said homeowner, Shane Mulkey.
In the video, you can hear Mulkey telling Giles that this is his property.
According to the sheriff’s office, the squatters call themselves sovereign citizens and went so far as to fabricate and file court documents naming themselves as owners of the property.
“The victim subsequently forwarded us a bunch of documents he received through the postal service that indicated that the subject he identified as Lewis Giles Jr. served a bunch of notices to the local paper that he was posting that he is the owner of his property,” said Cyber and Financial Division Supervisor Lt. Michael Shard.
Giles now faces a total of 144 counts as a result of the financial crimes investigation. The sheriff says this form of squatting is illegal and has a warning for other residents whose homes may still be vacant due to Ida damage or insurance issues.
“You’ve got to be on guard. Check your mail and talk to your neighbors. If you have property in St. John and you’ve been displaced, come home and see what’s happening,” said Tregre.
Mulkey says the situation put his family at risk and could have been worse.
“I’m just grateful it was me who stopped at the house and not my wife and my daughter. They would frequently go to the house. We still had 50% of our possessions in that house,” says Mulkey.
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