CHEYENNE — A couple accused of moving into a locked-up home and selling off the owner’s possessions allegedly told the homeowner they were squatters, they have rights, and he couldn’t do anything about it.
Then they were arrested and taken to the Laramie County Detention Center.
That’s the result of a recent change to Wyoming law that allows law enforcement agencies to remove squatters from homes if the homeowner can show they’re there illegally.
Senate File 6, which passed into law in February 2025 without a signature from Gov. Mark Gordon, makes squatting a criminal offense in certain circumstances. Those include the unwanted people not being current or former tenants, co-owners, family members or romantic partners.
The law was useful in this week’s, case, where the two squatters were removed from a Laramie County property on Monday.
“Boy, it’s heartwarming that maybe we got out ahead of something there,” said state Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, who chaired the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee in 2024 that advanced SF 6 to the full Legislature.
“No question that’s what we want it to do,” he said about Monday’s incident. “We talked about it based on testimony we received from homeowners, and it’s a real issue.
“It’s something going on nationwide. We found Wyoming indeed had situations like that.”
In addition to this week’s incident, Landen said the committee heard horror stories from homeowners across the state about squatters taking over their properties, trashing them, and in general being a nightmare to deal with.
“Right here in Casper, one of our constituents here could not get people out of a duplex, and by the time they were able to get them out, the damage was extensive and cost them thousands and thousands of dollars,” Landen said.
State Sen Jim Anderson, R-Casper, testified in favor of the law to the committee, and said he was pleased to learn the Laramie County deputies had cause to arrest the alleged squatters.
“What we were doing was trying to make it so that the law could act on it instead of having to say, ‘This is a civil matter. We can’t do anything,’” he told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“Oh my gosh, we have cases all over the state where squatters either destroyed the homes or the homeowners’ equipment or furniture — or just plain stole it or set it on fire,” Anderson added. “It’s been really bad.”
We Have Squatter Rights
It seems SF6 was written just for the property owner on Fox Farm Road near Cheyenne, who discovered a man and woman not only living in his unoccupied home, but allegedly robbing the place blind, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Laramie County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Michael Hauf.
Crystal Curiel (born 1985) and Salvador Curiel-Aviles (born 1986) were both detained at the scene on suspicion of burglary, the affidavit says.
On Wednesday, the pair had their first appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court, and found out they each face the same trio of felony charges that include burglary, property destruction and theft.
Although the home has been unoccupied for about 10-12 years, the owner said he checks up on it weekly, walking the property and retrieving mail, the affidavit says.
When doing his regular visit Monday, he found an open window to the house, many of his possessions strewn about the property outside when they hadn’t been before, two vehicles had been moved, and outbuildings broken into, Hauf wrote.
Then he attempted to go inside the house.
“As (he) opened the door, a female, later identified as Crystal Curiel Ramirez, was walking toward him from inside of the house,” the affidavit says. “Crystal said something like, ‘Please let me get my stuff and I will get out.’
“She also said she was cleaning up the property for him.”
It was when Curiel-Aviles joined the woman in confronting the homeowner that both tried to educate him on why they thought he had to let them keep squatting in his house.
“Crystal and Salvador both mentioned they are squatters and he cannot make them leave because they had squatter rights numerous times throughout the encounter,” Hauf wrote.
It was when Curiel-Aviles approached the homeowner and told him he thought the house was abandoned that the owner called 911.
‘You Can’t Touch Us Attitude’
It’s that kind of attitude that motivated legislators to add some teeth to Wyoming law with SF 6, Landen said.
“It’s this, ‘You can’t touch us’ attitude — and boy, that didn’t sit well with our committee and didn’t sit well with the full Legislature,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. “The attitude of people who think they can just take over your house.”
Landen said the task of the Legislature now is to identify areas where Wyoming can improve on SF 6.
“There’s more that can be done here,” he said. “Property rights are pretty important in Wyoming. I think it’s a good law, and I do think this is something we have to stay on.”
Anderson agrees, adding that squatters can be an especially nasty problem for “Wyoming snowbirds,” who winter in Arizona then return to their properties in the Cowboy State.
Just because a house isn’t being lived in for weeks or months at a time isn’t an invitation for others to move in and make themselves at home, he said.
“It’s these snowbirds, and we’ve got quite a few of them in Wyoming, and they come back after two or three months and here’s somebody living in their house,” Anderson said. “And they have no way of getting them out, and then they have no place to go.”
He added that he’s “really glad we changed that to a criminal offense instead of a civil offense.”
Bought Car From A Dead Guy
Finding the couple occupying his home was the tip of the iceberg for the Laramie County homeowner, who also discovered a Harley-Davidson motorcycle missing from his garage, along with about $50,000 worth of tools, according to the affidavit.
The investigation also turned up video surveillance from a local Walmart and pawn shop that allegedly show Curiel-Aviles driving one of the homeowner’s vehicles and pawning a number of items.
Neither suspect would talk to investigators, the affidavit says.
While documenting the scene, a deputy observed a bill of sale taped to the back window of one of the homeowner’s vehicles. It read, in all capital letters:
“I, (NAME REDACTED) AM SELLING MY 1992 TOYOTA CAMRY TO SAL CURIEL ON 8/12/26 FOR $500 AS IS CONDITION.”
The problem with that is the name of the man purporting to sell the Camry is the homeowner’s father-in law, who died 15 years ago.
Deputy Hauf wrote that a lock on the garage door had been pried open and a 2001 Harley-Davidson motorcycle worth about $12,000 was missing, along with a number of expensive tools.
If convicted of all their felony charges, Curiel and Curiel-Aviles each could get up to 30 years in prison, up to $30,000 in fines, or both.
A preliminary hearing to determine if there’s enough evidence to advance their cases to felony district court is scheduled for Aug. 28.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
