Halle Berry Victimized by Man Trying to Steal Her Home

Halle Berry damn near returned to her home to find the locks changed and a strange man living inside.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 59-year-old Ronald Eugene Griffin first showed up at an L.A. property owned by the actress in January and allegedly fiddled with the locks, but took off when he was approached by Halle's gardener.

A couple months later, in March ... cops received a trespassing call from workers at Berry's pad, who said Griffin was there with a locksmith trying to get in, claiming he was the new owner of the home and had the deed to prove it.

We're told he'd already managed to have one of the locks changed, and actually made a call to the police when he was confronted by the employees at the house. Yes, he was audacious enough to call the cops claiming ownership and pointing the finger at Halle's employees as trespassers!!!

According to law enforcement ... when police arrived Griffin maintained he was the owner of the house, but LAPD detectives quickly determined Griffin had fraudulently changed the title of the residence.

Halle told the detectives she had no idea who he was ... and definitely didn't give him permission to be at her home.

Griffin was later arrested and hit with a felony count of procuring and offering a false warranty deed and an additional count of petty theft. His bond's set at $36k.

Strangely enough ... we're told the guy didn't even know it was Halle's place. Just luck of the draw for her.

This isn't the first time Halle's had major issues with intruders. Back in 2011, she came home, walked in the kitchen and told cops, "As I opened my glass kitchen door and closed it behind me, all of a sudden I sensed someone behind me and turned to see the intruder standing less than a foot behind me, staring through my glass kitchen door." The guy was arrested.