New York Woman Confronts Squatters Occupying Her Late Parents' Home — and “She” Ends Up in Handcuffs

While filming a news segment, Adele Andaloro had a surprise encounter with the men occupying the house that led to multiple 911 calls

A Queens woman who has been fighting to remove alleged squatters from her late parents' home was taken into custody and charged with unlawful eviction.

On February 29, Adele Andaloro was filming an investigative segment with ABC 7 News about squatters she says have taken up residence in a family home that has been unoccupied since the death of her parents, when she had an unexpected confrontation with two men. (Andaloro is a relative of a PEOPLE staff member.)

The standoff resulted in multiple 911 calls and multiple people being taken into police custody, including Andaloro.

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After entering the unlocked property with a camera crew, the homeowner found one man sleeping inside the house and called the police, according to ABC 7. The NYPD handcuffed and removed the man, who reportedly said he'd only been staying there for two days.

Andalaro then brought in a locksmith who had been standing by to change the locks in an effort to prevent the squatters from returning. Police warned her doing so might lead to her arrest, according to ABC 7.

She told the outlet, "I may end up in handcuffs today if a man shows up here and says I have illegally evicted him . . .I said 'let him take me to court as I've been told to take him to court' because today I'm not leaving my house."

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Soon after, another man, who ABC 7 identifies as Brian Rodriguez, pushes through the front door. In the video footage, he claims to have signed a lease for the property in October. He does not produce a lease, but does show bills he's received at the address and claims to have done work on the house, for which he feels he's owed compensation.

After a shouting match, the unnamed man ultimately calls the police on Andaloro, who was still inside the house.

When the NYPD arrived, they handcuffed Andaloro and removed her from the property.

Police confirmed to PEOPLE that "a 47-year-old female was taken into custody" at the address. In a statement, the NYPD said "the individual changed the locks to the home without giving the complainant a copy of the new key and refused to leave the location."

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Andaloro was released with a Criminal Court summons for unlawful eviction.

She recounts that the police told her, "he can't be kicked out, you have to go to court."

In New York City, a person who has occupied a property for more than 30 days cannot be removed by the landlord without a judicial eviction. This is known as "squatters' rights."

This law is intended to protect tenants from predatory landlords, but often creates complicated situations like the one Andaloro finds herself in. In some cases, this can lead to the person occupying the property to legally take possession of the title to it.

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