Corpus Christi mother in tug-of-war with local man over eviction

• A single, homeless, unemployed mother struggles to keep a roof over her family's head.
• Water and power got cut off at her home.
• Eric Tunchez of the Corpus Christi Cronica helped her get off the streets and then tried to evict her from a rental property.
• Eric Tunchez gives her seven days to move out, but a judge ruled that Tunchez could not evict her because he does not have the title to the home.

Tuesday night's Troubleshooters report is more of a consumer beware story after a local man extended a helping hand to a single, unemployed, homeless mother and her son.

Local man, Eric Tunchez of the Corpus Christi Cronica, shared a photo of the homeless mother and her son on social media and received an outpouring of support from followers.

Tunchez then established a GoFundMe account about a year ago because the single mother, Jocelyn Davis, had difficulty paying rent and utilities. Davis says Tunchez encouraged her to start a GoFundMe account where they raised approximately $10,000.

Tunchez then took $4,500 to pay the first six months of rent at the house on Chestnut Street.

"CCISD was about to start, and this family was on the side of the road. A 15-year-old boy had his mattress on the side of Weber Road, and his mother was there. It looked like they had 3rd-degree burns. And I wanted to make sure that every kid had a good start to school and that they had shelter over their head," Eric Tunchez.

Joe Escobedo - KRIS 6 News

Davis says she lived in the Chestnut St. home for a few months without water or air conditioning, plus the bedroom has a major leak.

"The ceiling's falling down. There are three windows in one room gone," said Jocelyn Davis.

Davis was neither employed nor had any transportation, and the bills weren't getting paid, so Tunchez tried to evict her from the home.

Davis eventually wound up in Judge Tim McCoy's County Court at Law #5 last week, where a judge denied Tunchez's request for eviction within seven days.

Joe Escobedo - KRIS 6 News

After listening to both parties, the judge issued his decision.

"You don't have any interest on the property. You haven't shown any evidence of rightful possession of the property, so eviction's denied," said Judge Tim McCoy.

As a judge pointed out, Tunchez does not own the property or have the title to it. However, Tunchez claims he has something called "adverse possession."

Adverse possession allows a non-owner to gain title to a piece of land after a set period of time. It's also known as "squatter's rights" or homesteading.

Documents show Tunchez has claimed adverse possession of nine properties around Corpus Christi, including the house on Chestnut Street Davis was living in.

Joe Escobedo - KRIS 6 News

The Troubleshooters have called various local agencies to find help for Davis. On Monday, Tunchez notified Davis again that she had to move out within seven days due to non-payment of rent and utilities for August.

The Troubleshooters reminded her of Judge McCoy's ruling that Tunchez couldn't make her move out because he didn't have title to the property, but now she's decided to move out on her own.