Outrage as a pair of ex-convict squatters take over Florida home of Afghan war veteran and refuse to leave

When U.S. Army Spc Michael Sharkey was deployed to Afghanistan two years ago, he could never imagine that he would have to wage a legal battle just to get his Florida house back from a pair of ex-convicts who had settled there in his absence.

Sharkey and his wife, Danielle, live in Wahiawa, Hawaii, where the soldier is currently stationed, but in a little over a month, the family are expected to return to New Port Richey, Florida, where they own a house.

However, the Sharkeys' homecoming has been complicated by the presence of squatters in their one-story residence in the 6800 block of Westend Avenue.



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Army couple: Spc Michael Sharkey and his wife, Danielle, are gearing up for a fight against a pair of squatters who have taken over their Florida home

Unwelcome guests: Ex-convict Julio Ortiz (left) and his girlfriend, Fatima Cardoso (right), have moved into the Sharkeys' home under the guise of renovating it ahead of the couple's arrival



Turf war: The two sides are battling over this humble one-story house in the 6800 block of Westend Avenue in New Port Richey

According the solider and his wife, the strangers had broken into their home, changed the locks and are refusing to leave.

To add insult to injury, officials at the Pasco County Sheriff's department have informed the couple that they have no legal grounds to evict the man and woman.

The couple living in Sharkey’s home, identified as Julio Ortiz and his girlfriend, Fatima Cardoso, have offered a different version of events.

Hero: Mr Sharkey was deployed to Afghanistan two years ago and later transferred to Hawaii

Ortiz insisted to a local news channel that he has permission to live in the Sharkeys' house because he had entered into a verbal agreement with the soldier's friend to make repairs to the residence in exchange for rent-free housing.

Mr Sharkey dismissed the squatter’s claims as lies, as did his friend Lisa Pettus, who was left in charge of the unfinished home on Westend Avenue when the family moved to Hawaii.

According to Miss Pettus, Ortiz has agreed to renovate the family's home with the supplies she had provided, but their deal never included a living arrangement for the handyman and his girlfriend.

When Sharkey's wife and mother of three, Danielle Sharkey, returned to Florida on New Year's Eve, she came by the house with a sheriff's deputy in tow hoping to remove the intruders.

But the law enforcement official informed her that because it was a civil matter, his hands were tied.

Now, the couple will likely be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in legal fees for filing for eviction.

‘I work hard, long hours, and these people never had permission to live in my home' the outraged serviceman told the station WFLA. 'They should be thrown out.’

Another cause for concern for the Sharkeys is the squatters' extensive criminal backgrounds.

Ortiz, 42, served a combined 12 years behind bars in New Jersey for robbery, selling drugs on school property and carjacking.

Helpless: The couple have appealed to the local sheriff's department, but they were told that the law enforcement's hands are tied because it is a civil matter

His so-called better half, Miss Cardoso, served more than two years in prison on drug charges, and she has more than a half-dozen arrests in her rap sheet.

‘They are criminals,’ Spc Sharkey said. ‘I am serving my country, and they have more rights to my home than I do.’

Under an obscure Florida real estate law, anyone who possesses the land of another for seven years has the right to claim legal title to that land.

A defiant Julio Ortiz said he won’t leave the New Port Richey home until he is good and ready.

HOW TO TAKE OVER SOMEONE'S PROPERTY AND GET AWAY WITH IT

Adverse possession is a principle of real estate law that gives anyone who possesses the land of another for an extended period of time in an 'actual, open, hostile and continuous' manner the right to claim legal title to that land.

The exact elements of an adverse possession claim may be different in each state. In Florida, the law prescribes continuous possession of at least seven years. In New Jersey, a squatter must be in possession of the property for 30 years, while in New York it's 10 years. In some states, the trespasser must have paid taxes on the property during this time period. Other states don’t require payment of property taxes, but will apply a shorter time requirement for occupying the land if the trespasser has paid taxes.