One of two people charged with squatting in a home in Lakeview and removing property valued at more than $25,000 is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awaiting deportation to Mexico it was announced during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday (August 25).
A male at the home was initially identified as Armondo Martinez. The other person was 46-year-old Tabetha Hoyt.
A Baxter County sheriff’s deputy who went to the house after a neighbor reported that people were in the house removing items.
The deputy informed Hoyt and the male, then known as Martinez, that based on the evidence, he was arresting them both.
Hoyt was allowed to call a family member to pick up her five-year-old granddaughter who was also living in the house.
During the booking process at the Baxter County Detention Center, it was learned that the 36-year-old Martinez was actually Jose Armondo Martinez-Paz and that he was wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A detainer was placed on him for ICE and he is reported as currently being held in Florida awaiting extradition.
The local case against him will be left open for a period, according to Prosecutor David Ethredge.
When the Baxter County Sheriff’s deputy arrived, he was met by Hoyt who said she had been hired to clean the residence after the owner passed away.
Hoyt’s story started to crumble when she was unable to provide the name of the person who had hired her.
She switched stories at one point and said she was doing the work for free.
The deputy went to a neighbor’s home to ask about contacting the property owner and found the neighbor on the phone with a person identified as the owner’s son.
The son, who lives out-of-state with his mother, said he did not know Hoyt and that no one was authorized to be at the property. He said his mother owned the residence, was currently living with him and was not deceased, blowing several holes in Hoyt’s story.
When the deputy returned to the property, he noted a number of items had been placed in a walkway leading to the side door of the house.
The items were reported not to have been there when the deputy made initial contact with Hoyt.
As the deputy walked through the residence, he reported it appeared as if it was being lived in and that no extensive cleaning was going on.
He noted several bags of clothing sitting around the house, food in the refrigerator, a fresh pan of cookies on the stove, beds that appeared to have been recently slept in, items in the washer and dishes sitting on the counter.
A complete list of items taken from the house is being compiled.
Hoyt is charged with residential burglary, theft of property and criminal mischief.
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