Five squatters removed from South-Central El Paso house

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Deputies removed five people from a South-Central El Paso house on Thursday. The five people were not authorized to live in the vacant house, a spokesperson for the El Paso County Constable’s Office Precinct Three said.

The house is located on the 500 block of Barcelona Drive. The legal owner had not consented to the five people living at the house, the spokesperson said.

One of the squatters, Edgar Sealy, 49, had an outstanding criminal warrant for tampering or fabricating physical evidence and was taken into custody and booked into jail.

The Texas statutory law clarified its rules about removing unauthorized occupants recently. The state also reformed the eviction process. Senate Bill 1333 empowers sheriffs and constables to act promptly on verified complaints of unauthorized occupancy, while Senate Bill 38 streamlines civil eviction proceedings. A judge's signature is not required to carry out this kind of enforcement, the spokesperson expalined.

"This is the first enforcement/removal in El Paso County conducted by a law enforcement agency since the law took effect on September 01, 2025," the spokesperson stated.