State v. Leuders

Syllabus

Convicted, following a bench trial, of criminal damage of a landlord's prop- erty in the first degree, the defendant appealed to this court, claiming that there was insufficient evidence that she intentionally damaged the tangible property of the landlord, R, and that the trial court improperly denied her motion to suppress evidence discovered following a war- rantless entry into her residence and statements she made while in police custody. The defendant had entered into a residential lease agree- ment with R for a single family home. At that time, she was the vice president of a dog rescue company and owned a dog behavioralist company. R was aware of the defendant's businesses and the lease agreement allowed the defendant to keep dogs at the home. One night, the defendant texted R, reporting that the heat to the home was not working and asked R to send someone to repair it. The initial repair person could not fix the heating problem. R asked if she could return with another repair person and the defendant agreed but requested that R not enter the upstairs portion of the home, claiming that the upstairs would be locked and the dogs would be there. When R accompanied another repair person to the home the next day, the doors were unlocked and R went upstairs, observing large amounts of trash, damage to the home, and drug paraphernalia. She called the police, but they did not enter the house that day. She also contacted the defendant, who apolo- gized for the condition of the home and promised to clean it up. R sought permission to enter the house two days later during daylight hours, and the defendant agreed. When R returned to the home, the defendant was not present. R discovered piles of trash everywhere, as well as accumulated feces and urine, and a cage with the skeletal remains of a dog inside. She then left the house and called the police, who arrived promptly to the home. Two police officers and an animal control officer arrived and proceeded to enter the home