“Squatter” sentenced to 40 years in prison

PANAMA CITY BEACH , FL A man who filed fraudulent paperwork to take ownership of a beach condominium for more than 18 months was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson ordered Olandis Dean Hobbs, 37, to 25 years in prison for Fraudulent Use of Personal Identification Information, and a consecutive 15 years in prison for Grand Theft (over $100,000). The defendant also faces 30 years’ probation.

“I hope this sends a strong message,” Basford said. “Do not come to Northwest Florida and try to steal people’s identification and/or property by squatting because we will not tolerate this.”

Hobbs was found guilty as charged July 9 with the above offenses, and Unlawfully Filing a False Document, Uttering a Forgery, and Forgery. Prosecutor Josh James presented witnesses and evidence proving the defendant used fraudulent documents to have the victim’s condominium transferred to his possession.

The minimum sentence required by law was 10 years. Judge Stephenson said there are matters of “forgiveness” and matters of “justice,” and “forgiveness is not mine to give. Justice is mine to give.”

“This might be your first significant conviction, but it is a doozy,” Judge Stephenson told the defendant. “You stole rest from the sunset of someone’s life and should be punished for it.”

The condominium, valued at more than $500,000, belonged to an elderly woman and her two daughters. Both daughters spoke in court during the sentencing, saying while they believe in forgiveness, the crime called for a sentence that reflected its severity.

“Sentencing was important because we really wanted a stiff, but fair, sentence to send a message that this is not some victimless crime,” one sister said. “This was more than just squatting; he actually took ownership.”

The second sister, both live out of state, said the financial wounds from the crime will last for years, but she was happy with the guilty trial verdict and sentence.