Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Tampa Pastor Tami Robinson and Samantha Gavin on October 7th for Adverse Possession of a home abandoned in foreclosure. Deputies said Robinson had filed a notice of adverse possession several weeks earlier, and Gavin was living in the home.
Robinson had reportedly hand-served deputies a declaratory judgment lawsuit for related harassment at a different adverse possession home earlier. Both women were charged with burglary, and if convicted, they could serve prison sentences.
Robinson, a mortgage broker, pastors the Well Pavilion Ministry Church in the 3400 block of Sanchez Street.
In the lawsuit, it explains that the nature of the harassment as abuse of civil rights, and the legal basis of the adverse possessor’s rights. The pleading recognized the nature of such harassment against which most victims have little or no defense, owing to the high cost of legal assistance. It asks the court to declare Robinson’s rights with respect to adverse possession, and to enjoin the Sheriff and deputies to leave her alone, barring any court order or trespassing complaint from the actual owner.
Pastor Robinson said she’s never profited from adverse possession, but she knows people who have.
“My reason for doing this is because I’m a pastor, and I saw it as a benefit for misplaced families who could at least afford to pay off the liens.
“My vision is also for women with children who’ve been displaced to have a place to live. I think this can be very beneficial, and I don’t understand how they can say we’re misinterpreting the law.”
Pastor Robinson said all you have to do is ride around and look for these homes.
“These are homes that basically have been deemed vacant or abandoned by Hillsborough County Code Enforcement. The properties hadn’t been maintained, and these people move in, make repairs, clean things up, and pay the taxes. How can they be living for free?
“In the case of Ms. Gavin, she is a member of my church, and needed a place to live. She was in the first home when deputies came ad gave hr 24 hours to leave. I came out, showed them that I had filed the paperwork, and I was told adverse possession was illegal and unconstitutional.”
Pastor Robinson said she had contacted the actual owners of the property to let them know she was claiming them under adverse possession.
“The Property Appraiser’s Office is also supposed to contact the owners.
“As far as Ms. Gavin is concerned, there was another property I was working on for another family when she was displaced. I put that family on hold and allowed Ms. Gavin to move into that home. Now, she’s been denied access to that house and all of her belongings. When the deputies found out she was the same person I had helped before, that’s when we were arrested.”
Pastor Robinson said the lawsuit was filed prior to their arrests, and she doesn’t have a scheme going on.
“I was trying to help out a family, and this is what happened.
“As far as access to the homes is concerned, no one has to break into these houses. There was a sliding glass door open to Ms. Gavin’s house, and that’s how she gained access. The locks were changed after she moved in. All of the houses I’ve seen have been vandalized, or the doors left unlocked or open.”
On the Adverse Possession statute, Assistant State Attorney, Ada Carmona, said filing paperwork doesn’t give anyone rights to the property.
“That only shows that documents were filed through the clerk’s office, but is not a legal process,” said Carmona.
“The same thing applies to abandoned and foreclosed homes. In either case, the home is owned by either an individual or a lending institution.”
Carmona said in modern times when the law has been applied, it’s been in cases where there was a lot of land connected to a sub-division.
“The way the adverse possession is being applied right now is outright theft,” said Carmona.
“You can’t take over a house that’s been abandoned or foreclosed under adverse possession. That’s not what that law allows you to do. There is a huge misunderstanding of what this law says, and the problem is people are interpreting it to suit their own purpose.”
