Gregory Hayes has been found guilty as charged of Criminal Mischief, Grand Theft from a Dwelling, and Burglary of a Dwelling, in a case involving squatting in a stranger’s home.
The conviction comes following a two-day jury trial in Lee County. Assistant State Attorney Peter Valone prosecuted the case.
The defendant and his girlfriend, Angela Marie Lasker, a co-defendant in the case, broke into a home in Lehigh Acres in 2024. The owners of the property were out of town. The defendants began living in the home but then the actual homeowners came home, finding the uninvited and unknown occupants.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office was called. The defendants told the responding deputies that they leased the home and showed a fake lease for the property.
The actual homeowners provided deputies with proof of ownership as well as used their key to open the lock on the front door. It is then that deputies noticed the door lock had been tampered with so the defendants could gain access and it no longer worked. The defendants had installed a deadbolt that only they had keys to.
Lasker was sentenced in April to 40 months in prison for Criminal Mischief, Grand Theft from a Dwelling, and Burglary of a Dwelling.
Hayes is scheduled to be sentenced June 5, 2025.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director