Man was arrested after calling police to report squatters. He just got his home back months later

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County man has access to his home again more than six months after he says squatters broke into his rental home.

Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray reported last week on the battle that Tim Arko has been fighting since February. Backlogs with courts and the marshal’s office left him legally unable to enter his own home.

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Arko had been told he would be able to evict the squatters at the beginning of September. DeKalb marshals confirmed to Gray that it moved up the date for the eviction turnout. They evicted the squatters on Tuesday and Arko is now back in control of his home.

Back in February, Arko said tenants moved out of his East Lake rental home and he showed up to find someone else had broken in. He said as soon as he pulled into the driveway, someone pointed a gun at him.

“I just jumped the fence and ran. I didn’t know what else to do,” Arko told Gray.

Arko called police that day, but he was the one who was taken into custody.

“They told the police that I was a home invader and that it was their home. And so I ended up being arrested and detained,” Arko said.

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Arko was never charged with a crime once he showed police that it was his property. He had been fighting since that day to evict the squatters in court.

Gray went by the home last week where one of the alleged squatters yelled at him.

“You didn’t break into this house?” Gray asked the alleged squatter.

“Oh no sir,” the person said.

“Did someone break into the house?” Gray asked.

“No, nobody broke into the house,” the person said.

After months of court delays, the eviction order was finally signed this month and the squatters were evicted Tuesday.

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