6 days ago
Squatters leave DeKalb County home days after Channel 2 Action News confronted them
The Oliver family says they are breathing a sigh of relief after squatters finally left their childhood home.
'We're just happy. We're happy to get our parents' home back,' Lisa Oliver-Heath said.
Channel 2 Action News was the only station there as deputies went through every room on Monday.
Pictures taken by neighbors show a U-Haul truck in the driveway hours before deputies arrived. The Olivers suspect the squatters left before law enforcement arrived.
'We're anxious to get inside and see the conditions of our property,' Oliver-Heath said.
Last week, the Olivers told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln that squatters cut the locks of the home and moved in a day after their father's passing.
The home sat empty for months as their father received medical care at a nursing facility. They told Lincoln they were expected to close on the home last Friday to a new buyer.
'This has been an ordeal,' Oliver-Heath said.
One of the squatters, Dontarious Issac, turned himself in to police Friday.
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Issac was on probation for a 2024 felony conviction in Greene County. He was charged after using a drone to deliver contraband to inmates in Georgia prisons. He was sentenced to serve 5 years. Some 180 days of that time, he received credit for time served.
Some of the conditions for his probation include not being around drugs, alcohol, or weapons.
The Olivers said some of the squatters approached them with weapons.
Issac told Lincoln on Thursday that they were planning a large pool party at the house. Sheriff's deputies sat outside the house on Saturday, and the party didn't happen.
'What you're doing is more than just about having a good time. You are committing felonies,' Oliver-Heath said.
Because Issac was the one who told investigators he had a lease and hasn't presented one before the three-day window, he'll now be charged with a felony.
Georgia law requires suspected squatters to provide proof of lease within a three-day window.
'Our goal is having our last moments, walking our family through our family home, getting everything in order and getting ready to pass our home on to the next owner, so that it can be a blessing to them,' Oliver-Heathmoves told Lincoln.
The family did a walk-through of the home. They said the squatters left the home dirty and they found a few holes in some of the walls.
They've hired private security who will monitor this home until the new buyer moves in.
