MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - After living the high life for about a week in a mansion that isn't hers, police arrested a squatter at the east Memphis estate overnight.
Tabitha Gentry, 32, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Burglary, Criminal Trespassing and Theft of Property over $60,000.
She claims to be a sovereign citizen of the Moorish National Movement, who believes the law does not apply to her. Gentry filed paperwork with the Shelby County Register of Deeds on February 25, claiming to seize the property on the 600-block of S Shady Grove "in the name of Allah, the Most High, Creator of the Heavens and Earth." The 10,000 square foot home is owned by Renesant Bank after going into foreclosure in August 2011.
The bank posted a 24-hour eviction notice on March 5, which Gentry ignored. When confronted by ABC 24 just hours before her arrest, we asked what she planned to do if the police came to force her out. She simply replied, "I'll deal with them."
Tabitha Gentry was booked at the Shelby County Jail at 2:45 a.m. on Friday, March 8. She is being held on a $2 million bond, and is scheduled to appear in court March 11. Two juveniles were also removed from the home; one child has been released into her aunt's custody, and the second child is still in the custody of the Department of Child Services.
The case is still under investigation. The Shelby County Sheriff's Public Information Officer, Chip Washington, stated additional suspects and charges are likely.
This isn't Gentry's first tangle with the law. Last fall she was charged with Aggravated Assault for trying to run over a police officer during a traffic stop in south Memphis. At the time she provided police with a sovereign citizen identification card.
