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Video: The Cat Piano

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Lidane4/26/2010 4:22:28 pm PDT

I can’t decide if this is insane, hilarious, or ballsy:

California woman charged with moving into, claiming Lolo home she didn’t own

A California woman is charged with burglary after prosecutors say she moved into a Lolo house that was for sale, changed the locks and delivered paperwork to the owner claiming it was hers.

Jackiya D. Ford, 37, was arrested on April 14 and her belongings removed from a house built by Bob Paffhausen. She made an initial appearance in Justice Court on April 19 and her bail was set at $50,000.

Paffhausen said Ford had showed up about two weeks earlier to view the house as a prospective buyer. Sometime after that, prosecutors say Ford delivered paperwork to Paffhausen claiming ownership of the house and the land in a 20-mile radius around it. She offered to drop the lawsuit if Paffhausen would pay her about $900,000 in pure silver and gold.

Paffhausen received a call from NorthWestern Energy saying someone had reported a natural gas leak at the house. Paffhausen went to the house, where he found the locks and garage door codes had been changed and notices were posted on the doors claiming the house had been given to Ford by “our Lord and Savior Yahushua.”

Looking through a kitchen window, he could see personal belongings, including a rifle case leaning against the living room wall.

Paffhausen called County Attorney Dori Brownlow, with whom he had been working on Ford’s alleged claim to the house, and then 911.

Missoula County deputies shut off the gas and electricity to the house and were discussing how to enter the house when Ford drove up. Officers arrested her before she got out of the SUV.

Ford told the officers she was a sovereign citizen of the republic of America and therefore they had no authority over her. She said she owned the whole mountainside and that they were on public property. She said she had lived in the house for about two weeks, court records said.

Ford had a child with her and court records say the child was turned over to child protective services.