A man accused of breaking into his foreclosed home and changing locks was arrested Tuesday.
Sometime between March 19 and Monday, Steven Edward Tillman, 52, of Alachua, entered the house near the 18000 block of Northwest 46th Ave. and changed the locks of the doors, according to an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
The property, which he used to own, was foreclosed in 2017, Tillman told The Alligator. He has been trying to repeal it since.
Tillman also placed a no trespassing sign inside on the window sill above the front door, the report said. His phone number was listed on the sign.
A deputy called Tillman on Monday and told him to call him back, the report said. Tillman called the day after to report that the home had been broken into.
The deputy met Tillman at the home and told him that the residence was no longer his, the report said. Tillman disagreed and told the deputy that he did have the locks to the residence changed. He was then arrested.
Tillman was charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft of $100 less than $300 of a dwelling, the report said.
Tillman told The Alligator that the allegations are false.
“Everyone who knows me will assure you I’m no burglar or thief,” he said. “There is certainly no evidence of larceny.”
Tillman has been fighting the foreclosure against Suntrust Mortgage Inc. since 2010, according to court records.
He was released from the Alachua County Jail on Wednesday on his own recognizance.
Tillman
