Tenant Damage is Criminal Distruction

Residents Guilty of 'Criminal Destruction' of Apartment

Minnesota v. Alvarado: 1998 Minn. App. LEXIS 399 (Minn. Ct. App. 4/14/98).

Landlord Files Criminal Charges

      The Alvarados rented an apartment in Minneapolis Minnesota. Before moving out, the two tenants told a neighbor in their apartment community that their building manager "was going to receive a big surprise" after they moved out.

      When the manager inspected the apartment, she found motor oil on the refrigerator and rug, spray paint on the walls and radiator, and trash all over the apartment.

      The apartment manager called the police to report the malicious damage in the Alvarado apartment and filed charges against the tenants.

Guilty

      The state of Minnesota charged the Alvarados under state criminal statutes. A jury convicted the ex-tenants of "criminal destruction of property" in violation of Minnesota law.

Appealed

      The Alvarados appealed their conviction, claiming they didn't cause the damage. They said that they weren't in the apartment on the date the damage occurred but admitted that they had cleaned out a carburetor in the apartment.

DECISION: Affirmed

      The Minnesota appeals court affirmed the conviction. All the evidence pointed to the fact that the residents caused the damage

Minnesota v. Alvarado.