House-sitter charged with neglect
Memphis, TN (US)Incident Date: Monday, Nov 16, 2009
County: Shelby
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Patricia Lewis
A Memphis couple says they trusted the wrong person to look after their home and their pets when they went on an anniversary vacation.
Jessica and Marshall Martz say they gave their house key to their neighbor Patricia Lewis. They also say they gave her instructions on how to feed and take care of their five dogs.
"I thought I could trust her, and that she was a friend," says Jessica.
When they returned home they say they discovered their dog kennels were full of feces. "You could actually smell it before you entered the front door," Marshall says.
Jessica says she then noticed several pieces of jewelry were missing. "His ring was missing. The one I had bought for his birthday. All my rings were gone," she says.
They brought their case to Memphis Police. Investigators did some detective work, and discovered a fingerprint given when a ring was sold to a nearby pawn shop matched a fingerprint on file for Lewis at the CJC.
Lewis was found guilty of theft in 2005, after police say she returned a stolen electronic toothbrush to buy a ring at Walmart.
In this latest case, Lewis is charged with theft and animal cruelty.
We spoke to a man who wouldn't identify himself at Lewis's home Wednesday. "Everything is slander," he said, referring to the allegations. We asked him whether she properly took care of the dogs. "She did take care of the dogs. I took her down there to take care of the dogs. We brought the dogs out everyday."
Jessica and Marshall Martz say their sense of trust was broken. They now have a warning for anyone considering turning their house-key over to a neighbor. "Make sure that it is somebody that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you trust," Marshall says. References« TN State Animal Cruelty Map
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