A squatter who illegally occupied an apartment complex in Florida has been sentenced to 40 years in jail.
Olandis Hobbs, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday after being convicted earlier this month of using fake paperwork to obtain ownership of a $700,000 condo in the Panama City Beach region, according to the 14th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
“I hope this sends a strong message,” state attorney Larry Basford said in a statement. “Do not come to Northwest Florida and try to steal people’s identifications and/or property by squatting because we will not tolerate this.”
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Hobbs was sentenced to 25 years for unauthorized use of personal identity information and 15 years for grand theft over $100,000. He also faces 30 years on probation.
During his trial, evidence revealed that Hobbs submitted bogus paperwork with the Bay County Clerk of Circuit Court in late 2022 to transfer ownership of the condominium to himself. The land is legally owned by an 85-year-old woman and her offspring.
Hobbs has committed similar activities in other areas, including New York, and has been sued but not arrested.
“This might be your first significant conviction, but it is a doozy,” Judge Dustin Stephenson stated, according to the statement. “You stole rest from the sunset of someone’s life and should be punished for it.”
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According to USATODAY, Hobbs changed the locks and notified condo management officials of the change in ownership after unlawfully taking over the property. A maid contacted the legal owners, who live out of state, about the modifications.
The Panama City Beach Police Department executed a search warrant and arrested Hobbs on January 13, 2023. “The minimum sentence required by law was 10 years,” according to the state attorney’s news release. “Stephenson said there are matters of forgiveness and matters of justice, and forgiveness is not (his to give, but) justice is.”