Charles Langston:Squatter gets 40 years for illegally taking over Panama City Beach condo in Florida

PANAMA CITY BEACH,Charles Langston Fla. — A squatter who illegally took over a condo in Florida has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Olandis Hobbs, 37 was sentenced on Tuesday after being found guilty earlier this month of using false documents to take ownership of an approximately $700,000 condo in the Panama City Beach area, according to the State Attorney's Office of the 14th Judicial Circuit.

"I hope this sends a strong message," State Attorney Larry Basford said in a release. "Do not come to Northwest Florida and try to steal people's identifications and/or property by squatting because we will not tolerate this."

Hobbs' sentence includes 25 years for fraudulent use of personal identification information and 15 years for grand theft over $100,000. He also faces 30 years of probation.

During his trial, evidence showed that Hobbs filed fraudulent paperwork in late 2022 with the Bay County Clerk of Circuit Court to transfer ownership of a the condo to himself. The property is legally owned by an 85-year-old woman and her children.

Hobbs has committed similar acts in other places, like New York, and he was sued but never arrested.

"This might be your first significant conviction, but it is a doozy," Judge Dustin Stephenson said, according to the release. "You stole rest from the sunset of someone's life and should be punished for it."

Earlier coverage of this case:Squatter, 37, found guilty of illegally taking ownership of $700,000 PCB condo

Past reports note that after fraudulently taking over the condo, Hobbs changed its locks and notified condo management officials that there had been a change in ownership. The legal owners, who live out of state, were notified of the changes by a maid.

The Panama City Beach Police Department served a search warrant and arrested Hobbs on Jan. 13, 2023.

"The minimum sentence required by law was 10 years," the state attorney's news release reads. "Stephenson said there are matters of forgiveness and matters of justice, and forgiveness is not (his to give, but) justice is."