SAN DIEGO -- A woman accused with her husband of causing an estimated $210,000 in damages to her French Valley home after it was foreclosed on by San Diego Metropolitan CU was found guilty Friday, while the jury is still out on charges against her husband.
Monique Acosta was found guilty of one felony count of removing fixtures from a mortgaged property, with an enhancement for grand theft, and faces up to four years in jail.
Her husband, former San Diego police officer Robert Acosta, who was tried at the same time, has yet to receive a verdict. The jury determined Monique Acosta’s guilt late Friday but did not have time to come to a conclusion on Robert Acosta.
The couple took out a $700,000 mortgage with the credit union during the height of the housing boom, then found themselves unable to meet the payments.
During a three-week long trial, the Acostas were accused of leaving their foreclosed home a wreck before moving out in 2010. A video played during closing arguments showed the home with graffiti-marked walls, dye-stained floors, wires ripped from walls, countertops and cabinets removed or defaced and cypress trees cut down and left floating in the backyard pool.
Credit union representatives estimate the couple caused $165,000 in damages and stole $44,000 worth of appliances and fixtures, many of which were being advertised for sale on the Internet.
The damages occurred after the couple offered to make a "cash-for-keys" deal with the credit union; if they got the money, the credit union would get the house in good condition. The credit union declined.
Defense attorneys said the Acostas were merely taking furnishings they purchased separately and believed were theirs, and they disclaimed any knowledge of the vandalism.
However, the deed of trust that ran with their loan prohibited the removal of permanent fixtures, regardless of whether they had been improved. The occupants could replace items, but not eliminate them from the home.
Although the couple's attorneys contended that much of the damage, stemmed from vandals, the prosecution presented photographs of the Acostas engaged in the apparent dismantling of the home.
