FORT WORTH -- Moments after he was sentenced to 10 years of probation and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, the first "squatter" convicted of a felony in Tarrant County for crimes stemming from an adverse possession court filing was taken to jail to serve a short sentence.
David Cooper, 26, of DeSoto, convicted of first-degree theft and burglary, will spend 90 days in the county jail before his probation begins, state District Judge Sharen Wilson announced Thursday."Sometimes, it's good to be away for the holidays," Wilson said before Cooper signed the probation papers.She also ordered him to move to Tarrant County because that is where her court is providing the supervision."I will extend your jail time if you don't live in Tarrant County," she told him.The three-day trial focused on Cooper's use of an obscure property-rights law that enables people to claim ownership of abandoned or vacant properties as long as they pay taxes and maintain them. The law also requires that people live on the property as long as 25 years.Cooper paid $16 to file an affidavit of adverse possession Oct. 25 with the county clerk's office.By doing so, he had claimed title to the $405,000 Arlington home of Raymond and Julie Dell, who bought it years ago from former Texas Rangers slugger Juan Gonzalez. The Dells left the home in March 2011 to seek chemotherapy in Houston for Julie Dell.Cooper was arrested on burglary accusations by Arlington police Nov. 9. Raymond Dell said that furniture was missing and that large trash bags of belongings were piled up in the house. Prosecutors estimated that the theft involved more than $200,000 in valuables.Defense Attorney Deborah Goodall argued that Cooper intended to take advantage of the statute, which became law in the 1800s, not to steal anything.She argued that adverse possession is not listed as a crime in the penal code. "It's like putting a square peg in a round hole," she told jurors Wednesday.Cooper did not intend to commit crimes, she said again Thursday during the punishment phase of the trial."I beseech you to give him a chance," she told jurors. "Give him probation. Give him a chance to show he can be a law-abiding citizen."At the end of the trial, Goodall said her client was glad to have been spared a prison term."The jury did the right thing," she said. "The sentence was fair. ... Of course I didn't like the verdict. ... These [adverse possession] statutes need to be fixed."Cooper has 30 days to appeal the verdict. Goodall said she hadn't decided whether to appeal.Prosecutors argued that Cooper hatched a scheme to use the adverse possession law to trespass and to commit burglary and theft.They said he found the tactic on Google and pursued it. They called his use a "perverse misapplication of the law."The verdict provides a firm statement that such behavior won't be tolerated in Tarrant County, Assistant District Attorney David Lobingier said. Jurors, most of them also homeowners, understood the implications of their decision, prosecutors said."Your verdict is going to send a message to the community ... make no mistake ... to anyone who has ever contemplated this ... to get a free house," Assistant District Attorney Steve Gebhardt said.Cooper's wife, Jasmine Williams Cooper, was acquitted by the same jury of the same charges. Five other defendants are awaiting trial in Tarrant County in other cases involving adverse possession.Jurors were less inclined to send Cooper to prison because his crimes were not violent, Lobingier said.Cooper could have received a life sentence for the theft charge and a 20 years in prison for the burglary chargeThe most emotional part of the trial came Thursday when Raymond Dell addressed Cooper in a victim's impact statement."You thought you were smarter than the system and you could walk away with all this property," Dell said, calling him a "con."Dell choked back tears when he said: "Your own mom has cancer. I'm appalled you did this. ... I hope you understand how devastating this is. ... You need to understand your actions have implications. You need to learn to respect."Dell also congratulated the jury for its verdict."Thank you for making a just and right decision," he said. "Every homeowner in Tarrant County should be proud."Yamil Berard, 817-390-7705Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
