Case Details


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Case ID: 19710
Classification: Other
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Trio charged with break-in, animal cruelty
Westland, MI (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, May 27, 2012
County: Wayne

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Emily Elizabeth Helegda
» Justin Christopher Rodriguez
» Lucas David-Lee Poster

Three people are facing charges including larceny and animal cruelty after a reported break-in at a Westland apartment.

The resident of Colonial Village Apartments, 8181 N. Wayne Road, told police May 27 she returned from work and found a key broken off in her apartment's main entrance door. She said she called management for assistance but no one arrived before she had to leave to work at her second job.

Accompanied by her boyfriend, the woman said she returned later to her apartment. The boyfriend climbed to the second story balcony and found the apartment door was ajar. The apartment door had been kicked open damaging the trim, door jamb, strike plate and lock.

The resident told police clothing was missing from her closet and later located in a nearby Dumpster. Some other items missing from the apartment were found outside.

The woman began looking for her small dog which she hadn't located. Hearing whimpering from under her bed, the woman told police someone took a drawstring from a mesh storage bag, tied it tight around the dog's neck and then tied its legs together making it unable to walk. The dog appeared to be uninjured.

The woman told police she shared the apartment with another woman for several months until the roommate moved out in April. The roommate had not taken all of her belongings despite numerous attempts to reach her, the woman said. The roommate had also refused to return the apartment key or sign off on the lease, she said.

On May 18, the woman said she returned home to find a 32-inch flat screen television and an iPod docking station missing from her bedroom. There was no forced entry, so the woman told police she didn't report theft because she suspected the former roommate but had no proof.

After finding the key broken in the door, the woman said she learned her former roommate, the roommate's mother and a man turned up looking for her at a restaurant where she works. Once she got inside her apartment, the woman told police she found the rest of the roommate's belongings were removed.

An officer talked to the former roommate by telephone and was told she removed her belongings but denied taking any items that didn't belong to her that day or May 18. She also denied tying up the dog.

The former roommate and her boyfriend, the man who had been with her at the apartment, agreed to talk with police. Both denied taking anything. The man initially told police his girlfriend had kicked the door open but changed his story after the officer pointed out she was only 5 feet tall, 100 pounds and as a result, unlikely to have accomplished that, police said.

The couple identified a second man as having been with them at the apartment, police said.

Facing charges of vandalism, trespassing, larceny and animal cruelty are Emily Elizabeth Helegda, 17, of Inkster; Justin Christopher Rodriguez, 18, of Westland; and Lucas David-Lee Poster, 19, of Garden City.

References

  • « MI State Animal Cruelty Map
    « More cases in Wayne County, MI

    Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

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