SAN DIEGO – A San Diego police officer and his wife on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to charges that they trashed their home after it was foreclosed on by San Diego Metropolitan CU, then stole major appliances and decorative features before vacating.
Robert and Monique Acosta have been charged with one count each of damaging or destroying an encumbered property – a felony. As he faced the judge, Acosta clutched a black Bible in one hand and his wife’s hand in the other.
A representative of the credit union called Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies on June 15 when she discovered the house had been trashed. Rock facing on the front of the home had been ripped off, black paint and hair dye squirted all over the carpeting, the walls spray painted and electrical wires dug out from walls and cut, the affidavit described. Missing from the home were the flagstone porch and walkway, garage doors, kitchen cabinet doors and drawers, air conditioners, a wrought iron gate, wooden beams from the living room ceiling, appliances and vanities.
In the backyard, trees and bushes were uprooted and tossed into the swimming pool, the sprinkler system and pool equipment damaged and decorative rock destroyed, according to the affidavit.
The total damage is estimated at $165,000, and an additional $44,000 in property was stolen.
A neighbor told investigators that he took photos of the couple moving items to two large storage units on June 12. Investigators searched the storage containers and recovered about $7,290 in stolen property, including appliances, chandeliers, shutters, iron gates and exterior lights.
Authorities also discovered two Craigslist ads linked to Robert Acosta’s cell phone trying to sell air conditioners and cypress trees.
