# Buy a house and get arrested when you try to move in. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 22, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596 "2012-04-22T15:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/1 "2012-04-22T15:18:55Z")
This is one hell of a way to meet the new neighbors. :eek: What gets me is the keystone cops that arrested and charged them. I hope this couple has a good lawyer and sues the crap out of the neighbor and the cops. I wonder if charges can be filed against the neighbor for threatening them and pointing a gun? Who the heck walks around with their real estate papers? I certainly didn’t 24 years ago when I bought my house. _I was given keys to my new house_. That’s what proved I had every right to be on my new property. All my real estate and mortgage paperwork were in my safe deposit box at my bank. [http://www.ajc.com/news/couple-held-at-gunpoint-1423138.html](http://www.ajc.com/news/couple-held-at-gunpoint-1423138.html) > [@](#): > > The Kalonji family had just closed on a foreclosed home and were told by their real estate agent they should go over to the house and change the locks. > > But when Jean Kalonji and his wife, Angelica, started working at the home, an armed man and another person who appeared to be the man’s son allegedly confronted them. > > “He say to put the hands up and get out from the house, otherwise he would shoot us,” the husband told Channel 2. > > The neighbors didn’t believe the couple when they told them they had bought the home and called the Newton County Sheriff’s Office. The Kalonjis didn’t have the closing papers with them, so deputies arrested them, charged them with loitering and prowling and took them to jail. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/2 "2012-04-22T15:25:50Z")
I’ll keep this in mind when I hand the new owners the keys at my next closing. OTOH, since the sheriff knows me, a phone call to me or my office would probably take care of it. That’s the advantage of a small town. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/3 "2012-04-22T15:26:40Z")
Who the hell defends a foreclosed property next door at gunpoint, there has to be another angle to this story we… > [@](#): > > Jean Kalonji, an immigrant from the Congo Yea… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/4 "2012-04-22T15:36:32Z")
Local tv news with video. This happened in Newton County, Georgia. One of the suburbs near Atlanta. [http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/new-homeowners-met-gun-wielding-neighbors/nMd7C/](http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/new-homeowners-met-gun-wielding-neighbors/nMd7C/) It seems like the man’s wife spoke very good English. There shouldn’t have been any problem explaining things to the cops that first responded to the 911. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/5 "2012-04-22T15:45:31Z")
There are housewarming gifts, and then there are housewarming [git](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang))s. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/6 "2012-04-22T16:05:59Z")
If I was the Kalonji’s I sure wouldn’t want that house NOW, knowing what kind of neighbors I’d have. I’d be exploring ways to back out of the deal, if at all possible. Oh, and suing the armed neighbors who confronted them. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/7 "2012-04-22T16:44:31Z")
How is this going to work out? “Hey, man. Remember that time when I held a gun to you and your wife and got ya’ll arrested? Well, er, I’ve been feeling awful about it. So I brought you a pie. Are we cool now?” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/8 "2012-04-22T16:54:30Z")
I wonder why the news story includes the name of the people who did nothing wrong (the Kalonjis) but excludes the names of the individuals who precipitated this injustice. Those people should at least be held out for public ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/9 "2012-04-22T17:00:54Z")
Why in the world would a pair of thieves go to an empty house and start fixing it up? Those neighbors were some kind of assholes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/10 "2012-04-22T17:01:38Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Those people should at least be held out for public ridicule. Those people should be held in jail. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/11 "2012-04-22T17:19:21Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Those people should be held in jail. :dubious: On what charge? Being an asshole with intent? The neighbors didn’t do anything wrong _in the legal sense_. They knew the house was vacant, and they were looking out for it. The matter should have ended as soon as the deputies showed up, not with the new homeowners carted off to the slammer. Back to the real world. The neighbors are liable as hell for the new homeowner’s legal tab, and I smell a false arrest suit against the deputies and sheriff’s department. And I want the new people to prevail across the board. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/12 "2012-04-22T17:24:17Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > :dubious: > > On what charge? Being an asshole with intent? Assault? It seems to me that holding somebody at gunpoint should be illegal, even if it isn’t ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/13 "2012-04-22T17:26:09Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > :dubious: > > On what charge? Being an asshole with intent? > > The neighbors didn’t do anything wrong _in the legal sense_. The neighbors held them at gunpoint. I know that local laws vary a lot about such things but I’m not sure how that was legal. If the neighbors were concerned, they should have called the cops from their home and stayed inside. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/14 "2012-04-22T17:27:10Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > :dubious: > > On what charge? Being an asshole with intent? > > The neighbors didn’t do anything wrong _in the legal sense_. If they had just reported to the police that there were some people apparently breaking into the house, then they would have been doing nothing wrong. But threatening the new neighbours with a gun has to be wrong, either as an unlawful citizen’s arrest, or as something else, e.g., criminal assault. (My understanding is that with a citizen’s arrest, the person doing the arrest has to know that a felony is in process or has just occurred. No felony had taken place before the neighbours threatened with their gun.) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/15 "2012-04-22T17:29:35Z")
Squatters and copper-thieves can be a real problem, but I just don’t see how this couldn’t have been cleared up without an arrest. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/16 "2012-04-22T17:30:33Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Assault? It seems to me that holding somebody at gunpoint should be illegal, even if it isn’t Yeah. You can’t just hold guns to people in a threatening matter, just like you can’t hold a steak knife to someone in a threatening matter. And even if these had been thieves, the neighbors didn’t have any justification to restrain them in this way. This wasn’t their property. They themselves were not in any danger. If the new homeowners had been armed, they would have had every right to defend themselves. The neighbors need to be held accountable for their foolishness. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/17 "2012-04-22T17:40:27Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Why in the world would a pair of thieves go to an empty house and start fixing it up? Those neighbors were some kind of assholes. Here in Ga there’s been a rash of “sovereign citizens” breaking into foreclosed & empty homes, doing a bit of repair work, then selling and/or renting out the homes, claiming that they now own the homes thanks to adverse possession laws. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/18 "2012-04-22T17:43:30Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#): > > Here in Ga there’s been a rash of “sovereign citizens” breaking into foreclosed & empty homes, doing a bit of repair work, then selling and/or renting out the homes, claiming that they now own the homes thanks to adverse possession laws. Fair enough. It was reasonable to suspect that they could have been up to no good. That still doesn’t excuse holding them at gun point. (And I know that you are not making the argument that it does.) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/19 "2012-04-22T17:51:16Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > :dubious: > > On what charge? Being an asshole with intent? > > The neighbors didn’t do anything wrong _in the legal sense_. They knew the house was vacant… No, they thought it was vacant. As the rightful owners were present, it was not in fact vacant, and so the neighbours committed an armed home invasion. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596/20 "2012-04-22T17:55:08Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Squatters and copper-thieves can be a real problem, but I just don’t see how this couldn’t have been cleared up without an arrest. A phone call to the closing company? Or the bank? “I’m sorry, sir…we have had an issue with squatters. I just need to confirm. Can I get the name of your closing company, or perhaps your mortgage representative?” We closed on a house about two years ago. The mortgage rep, the realtor and the closing company could have all vouched without an arrest. Not to mention, the possession of the key should have been a clue to the police that an arrest was premature without more investigation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-a-house-and-get-arrested-when-you-try-to-move-in/619596.md?page=2)