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From that point forward, the dispute snowballed into a full-blown nightmare. Douglas tried every legal avenue available. She delivered a formal notice ordering Romero to leave. She contacted police again and again. She went to court. She even offered Romero $2,500 simply to sign a document acknowledging she wasn’t a tenant and to vacate the premises immediately.
Romero did sign the agreement—yet when the deadline arrived on November 15, she defied it and stayed put, insisting the deal “no longer works for me.”
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The homeowner quickly learned that, in D.C., property rights mean nothing without paperwork the squatter never had in the first place. Officers told Douglas that they could not remove Romero, even though Douglas was barred from stepping inside her own home.
Neighbors later witnessed what appeared to be Romero and others packing up and driving away. Police inspected the home, found it vacant, and told Douglas she was free to secure the property. Believing the nightmare was finally ending, she immediately changed the locks, added boards to the home, and shut off the electricity for safety reasons.
But the relief didn’t last. According to neighbors, Romero soon returned—and broke back inside.
What happened next stunned both the neighborhood and the homeowner. Police reportedly allowed Romero to hire a locksmith and walk back into the home, despite her having no lease, no tenancy agreement, and no court order granting access.
“This is taking me somewhere where I’m not trying to be,” Douglas told 7News. “I’m trying to stay on the right. But for somebody to just take and take and do and do. Everybody has a breaking point.”
While Douglas is locked out of her own home and drowning in bills for a property she cannot enter, Romero’s social media shows a very different life—traveling, vacationing, and promoting her nonprofit, according to 7News.
The case took an even darker turn during an emergency court hearing, where a list of disturbing allegations was presented:
• Romero allegedly attempted to shove Douglas off a ladder while she was posting a sign
• Romero allegedly transferred utilities into her daughter’s name
• Romero allegedly interfered with security cameras
• Romero allegedly attempted to have Douglas declared a hostile witness
• Romero allegedly accused Douglas of threatening her in front of officers
Despite everything, the judge ordered Douglas to restore electricity to the home—allowing Romero to continue living there completely free of charge.
A ruling on the housing situation is expected next week, but residents across D.C. are already asking the obvious question: if a homeowner with legal documents and police reports still cannot reclaim her own property, who exactly does the justice system work for anymore?
