Son forced to defend himself after evicting squatters from grieving mum's house
A loyal son decided to take matters into his own hands after squatters invaded his grieving mum's home.
In a video on YouTube, Flash Shelton explained how the family - thought to be made up of a grandmother, parents, teenagers and children - moved into the vacant property after breaking in through the back door.
His mum left the property empty following his father's death, knowing she wasn't mentally or physically able to live in the house alone.
And he managed to take it back after waiting outside the Northern California home until everybody left and letting himself in using the key.
Flash found a truckload of their belongings inside the property (@handymanassoc/YouTube)Flash then installed cameras throughout the property, took photographic evidence of their belongings inside it, and waited for their return.
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"If they could take a house, then I could take a house," he said. "They're the squatter, and they have rights. Well, then, if I become the squatter on the squatter, then I should have rights, right?"
Flash, who works as a handyman, tried to go down the official route by contacting the police - but decided to give his idea a try after hearing "horror stories about how the legal system gives the squatter more rights than the homeowner."
He said: "I decided to come up with a way on my own to get them out in less than a day.
"Even though you're at your house, and you're paying the mortgage… at some point, squatters feel like they have more rights than you, so they don't have incentive to leave until a judge tells them to.
The squatters quickly moved out after he showed up at the house (@handymanassoc/YouTube)"And that could take months, six months, it could take years. I don't know. I didn't want to take that chance."
However, not everybody was pleased with how he handled the situation - with some claiming he should have been harsher on the squatters, while others believe he should have waited for the courts to resolve it.
Providing an update on the situation, he said: "People are upset that I didn't show faces. I purposely edited the video to not show the minor - but the bottom line is, I wasn't doing this [filming the video] to ruin somebody's life.
"I didn't post her name, I cut the video off, I didn't show the name tag on her uniform, I didn't do this to call her out. I did this to show what my experience was."
He went on to explain how the squatters ended up apologising to him on their return to the property - and followed his instruction to move out there and then.
It was at this point when he realised one of the women living in the house was actually the prison guard who previously enquired about renting it from him.
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But as she said she didn't have any credit or money, he declined.
This wasn't the only thing viewers complained about as many started to criticise him for how he explained the situation when speaking on YouTube, claiming he said "um" and "so" too many times.
"A lot of people were complaining that I was saying the words 'so' and 'um' a lot. I have to say that I came from a stuttering problem so if I happen to use the word 'um' to negotiate between thoughts then that's what it is.
"If you feel the need, as a few of you have said, to turn my video into a drinking game and take a shot every time I say 'so' and 'um' then all I can say is thank you for the attention."
Ending his video, he reminded people to take care when taking matters into their own hands, as they never know what could go wrong.
He said: "I don't suggest that everyone take a chance like I did on their own. It's worth noting that I have had special training, a license to carry and was prepared for whatever situation was to arise.
"The men and women I had to deal with remained peaceful and that may not always be the case. If you ever have a situation like this, it is best to expect the worst and you will be prepared."
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