A Chicago woman’s property is being overtaken by squatters, she says she is not able to kick out.
Darthula Young received an alarming phone call from a neighbor that there was a shooting outside her home and when she rushed to the scene, she found her locks had been changed and a bullet had pierced the window.
The residence that she inherited from her late mother was being occupied by a well-known local ex-convict, Takito Murray, and there was nothing Young could do about it. Under Chicago eviction laws, it could take eight months to kick squatters out.
"The only option I have is going through the legal process," Young told "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Tuesday. "As you talked about squatters’ rights, I've been doing my research and in the state of Illinois...anything that has to do with the squatter, comes under tenants' rights and tenants' rights is very different from squatters' rights."
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Young gave the Murray a five-day notice, went to court three times and the saga is still not resolved. He has racked up a $1,300 water bill in the meantime.
"Evicting a tenant or a squatter is illegal in the state of Illinois, and they make it really clear that you can be arrested, or you can face charges," Young explained.
Young had waited by her house for hours and had the police go over, but Murray wouldn't budge.
"He told me he's a professional squatter, and he knows his rights, and he is not leaving," she said.
Police have their hands tied as the illegal resident makes his case to stay.
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"When I talked to the police and Takito came back from the hospital after getting shot, he said, ‘First of all...Yeah, I got a lease, I'm paying rent’ and I'm saying, ‘[To] who?’ And then he says, ‘Oh, I can't find it.' But when I asked them [police] to remove him for breaking and entering, he...told us that he's a professional squatter, and he knows his rights."
Young said the trespasser has two pit bulls, and is not sure how many other visitors are on the property.
