Active duty US Army officer says squatter has moved into her Atlanta home

A female army officer has told how a man with a long criminal history squats in her home in the Atlanta area while she is on active duty in Chicago.

Lieutenant Colonel Dahlia Daure told local media that Vincent Simon – a man convicted of guns, drugs and robbery – lives in her $500,000 home.

Daure said she was away from her hometown of Ellenwood, Georgia, to serve her country in the Windy City — only finding out he had moved in when the house went up for sale.

“I felt violated. If I hadn’t served my country, I would have been in my home,” Daure said WSB TV.

The active army officer was told by the police that they could not deport Simon and that the matter is considered a ‘civil matter’.

‘I want to shoot out the windows, turn off the water tap, cut cables, but I can’t. That’s a crime. Law-abiding citizens cannot do that,” she said.

Daure told local media that the man lives in her home in Dekalb County, Georgia, worth $500,000

Daure says the man in her house is Vincent Simon, a Georgia resident convicted of guns, drugs and robbery.

According to Daure, she was only made aware of the situation after her real estate agent made final preparations for the sale of her home in Holly Hill Parkway.

The massive 4,300-square-foot estate where Simon is hiding has five beds and five bathrooms, Zillow says, and is valued at about $495,000.

Before putting the house on the market, she rented it out and had even spent an estimated $35,000 on renovations.

After receiving a cash offer and being under contract, Simon reportedly moved in. Daure said she saw him move huge safes into the house at one point.

The active officer says Simon claimed he had a lease on the house and paid $19,000 for six months.

“The police called the number on the lease, it doesn’t exist,” Daure said.

When WBS-TV went to the Holly Hill Parkway home this weekend, they found “beware of dogs” signs posted like cardboard on some of the windows.

Daure has since provided Simon with eviction papers, but he has a legal right to respond and have his case heard in court. ‘He’s not a tenant. He’s a squatter,’ she said.

“I felt violated. If I hadn’t served my country, I would have been in my home,” Daure said

The massive 4,300-square-foot estate where Simon is hiding has five beds and five bathrooms, says Zillow, and is valued at about $495,000

‘I can’t ask them to leave. I can’t turn them off. The police can’t deport them. What kind of justice is that?’ Dare said

The military officer now says she feels her case is deadlocked as she has to wait for the deportation process to be completed.

‘I can’t ask them to leave. I can’t take them off. The police can’t deport them. What kind of justice is that?’ Dare said.

The woman said the sale of the home also appears to be off track.

WSB-TV reported that the DeKalb County Police Department and an official private trial server delivered Simon eviction papers.

Simon can respond in court and request a trial before a judge.

If his request is granted, the deportation process could take weeks or months.