Florida Sheriff Grady Judd blasts squatters as 'dopers and freeloaders,' warns they're in for a 'one-way ride to the county jail'

No-nonsense Florida Sheriff Grady Judd blasted home squatters as a "bunch of dopers and freeloaders" and warned the hated bunch that if they pull their antics down his way, they're in for a "one-way ride to the county jail."

Judd — who heads up the sheriff's office in Polk County — sent his message Monday morning during an interview with Fox News' Lawrence Jones in the wake of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signing a bill that squashes squatters:

In fact, Judd told Jones that past police action in Polk County already had been making life difficult for squatters: "We never had that problem because we go to the house, we determine, 'Well, the real owner doesn’t know who these people are entered into no contract.' We load 'em up, give 'em a one-way ride to the county jail. It’s just that simple. You don’t have to bog it down in court. Just do what’s right.”

Judd added to Jones that "it's always been that way in this county; they pop smoke on us and leave whenever they get out of jail, and they’re gone. I mean, they’re gone fast because we don’t put up with it, and that’s the bottom line, Lawrence. Across this nation, if you get tired of it, do something about it." Judd also said crime is at a 50-year low in Polk.

When Jones asked Judd if he had advice for homeowners elsewhere in the U.S. to avert what's become a headline-grabbing "crisis" as of late, the sheriff didn't mince words.

“You don’t have to make it a civil deal. When somebody breaks into your home, whether you're in it at the time — it may be up for sale, you may have gone on a cruise around the world — for whatever reason, your property's empty. People don’t have the right to move in, turn the electricity on, change the locks, and claim it as theirs," Judd said. "It’s not difficult. It’s burglary. It’s theft of your property. It’s trespassing. Just use your current laws and go arrest them and lock 'em up."

For homeowners who want compensation for money they've spent removing squatters, Judd acknowledged that's much tougher: "You can sue them, but you can't get blood out of a turnip. They don't have anything. What little money they have they stick up their nose or in their veins. They're just a bunch of dopers and freeloaders. We call 'em squatters."

Homeowners have had enough

As readers of Blaze News know by now, police recently arrested the owner of a $1 million home in New York City for changing the locks on a squatter and charged her with unlawful eviction.

Outrage over the incident apparently led a pair of men soon after to show up at the home "looking to get this guy out."

Amid all that, a Venezuelan immigrant created a viral video in which he encouraged illegal aliens to find vacant homes and become squatters: "I have thought about invading a house in the United States. I found out that there is a law that says that if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it."

Also, an Atlanta man had been fighting for years to move dozens of squatters off his property, spent thousands on cleanup, and actually was sued for $190,000.

In addition, a crew known as the "Squatter Squad" gained widespread attention after they were depicted in a recent video confronting a dozen squatters in one Los Angeles-area home, kicking in a door, and sending the lot of them packing.

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