03x69 - Breaking and Not Entering

[bunniefuu]

Okay, and you heard a crash in your house.

Shattering, yes.

You went over to wake her up,
you were mad, and you broke his window.

You'd been fighting with him all day.

I'm guessing so.

The glass wasn't broken
when you went to sleep, right?

-She was...
-I'm not asking you anything!

You don't have to be a genius
to connect these dots.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] John Mauro is suing
the defendant, Joshua Leiss,

for trespassing and vandalizing his home.

[Kevin] Court come to order.
All rise.

Have a seat, please.

-[Kevin] Hello, Judge.
-[Judy] How are you, Kevin?

Case 3111, Mauro versus Leiss.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

[Judy] Mr. Mauro,
your girlfriend's name is Skyler.

Correct.

-[Judy] And that would be Skyler.
-[John] Correct.

This young woman's name is Brittany.

Brittany was very good friend
with Skyler.

And this is Brittany's boyfriend.

Yes, ma'am.

And what I gather was,
you and your girlfriend,

on September the 1st,
had a disagreement.

Something like that.

Do you and Brittany live together?

Yes, we do currently.

[Judy] On September 1st,
were you living together?

No.

When did you move in together?

Not long after the whole incident.
Probably about a month or so after.

Tell me about the incident that happened

that caused Brittany to flee
and go to the plaintiff's home.

Sure.

And, Kevin, I would like you to show
Brittany to the waiting room outside.

[Kevin]
This way, please.

Okay.

All right, Mr. Leiss, now I'd like you
to tell me what happened

between you and Brittany
on September 1st.

She had gone out drinking
with Skyler and Mr. Mauro.

I was upset that she went out drinking
'cause we had alternate plans.

[Judy] Okay, just a minute.
Had you been working?

[Joshua]
I had worked.

And when you came home, how did you
find out that she was out with...

She told me.
She said, "I went out drinking."

-How did you communicate in...
-[Joshua] Phone.

-By phone?
-Via text.

-[Judy] Just a second. Via text.
-Back and forth.

-[Judy] So you came home from work.
-Mm-hmm.

She said, "We're done, we're coming in."
It was later on that night.

It had to be a couple hours
after I took a shower,

and said that she was
coming over to the house.

[Judy]
To your house.

Because she knew I was upset
that she had gone out drinking.

She was intoxicated, so I was upset.

Oh, just a second.
She said she was intoxicated?

Well, just because
of the text message chain, you know,

you could hear, you know, the drinking.

You know, you can kind of tell
somebody's getting inebriated.

[Judy] Why don't you show me
the text messages on your phone.

-[Joshua] Of our back-and-forth?
-Yes.

I don't even...
I'd gotten a new...

Everybody gets a new phone.

-Everybody gets a new phone.
-[Joshua] I didn't save it.

[Judy]
You know how long I've had my phone?

It still has a button on it.

-[Joshua] It's still a flip?
-[Judy] Yeah.

Find the text messages
so that I can see them.

That would be months.

We have the exact date...
September 1st, 2023.

-That was of the incident, correct?
-[Judy] Mm-hmm.

Kevin, would you have, please,

the witness find that communication
starting in September.

[Joshua]
She would probably have it before I would.

Just a second.

Yep. He has to ask her.

It stopped at October 15th.

Skyler, did Brittany communicate with you
by text or by phone?

-By text.
-[Judy] Okay.

While I'm taking
the rest of his testimony,

would you check your phone, please,

to see what the messages are
on your phone.

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] For September 1st.

-Would you do that?
-Mm-hmm.

Thank you very much.
Okay, Mr. Leiss.

So you were annoyed because,
as far as I believe you testified,

you could tell that she was inebriated
and getting drunker, by her text messages.

Mm-hmm.

What prompted her to come to your house?

'Cause she wanted to see me.
She wanted to come over.

She was gonna come to your house.

-[Joshua] Which she did. Mm-hmm.
-She did.

And what time did you girlfriend
get to your house?

It was late. It was midnight-ish.

Did she come into your house?

-Yes, she came in. We...yeah.
-[Judy] Just a second.

Did you let her in
or does she have her own key?

No, she doesn't have her own key.

-[Judy] So you let her in.
-Yes, 'cause she...

Now I want you to start from the point
when you let her in the house.

I just was upset with her.

[Judy] No, I want you to tell me.
Upset's a state of mind.

I want you to tell me what she said to you
and what you said to her.

She wanted to stay the night.

She was obviously, you know,
trying to sleep over.

And I was still upset. She said,
"Fine, I'm going to John's house."

That's all that happened?

And she said, "If you want to come over,
you're more than welcome to come over.

I'll be sleeping in the front room."

[Judy]
Okay, so you were upset.

What did you say
when you were upset to her?

I just wanted space. I just...
I was irritated at this point.

And I work. I was tired.

-[Judy] So you said you wanted space.
-Yeah.

Now, she was going over
to this gentleman's house,

-where her friend was.
-[Joshua] Mm-hmm.

-[Judy] "Uh-huh" is not an answer.
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And she left,
and she drove to John's house.

Yes, ma'am.

What happened next?

After she had left,
I had left not that far behind her

because I was more concerned
about her safety.

As I sat there, I was like,
"She shouldn't be driving right now,"

so, as concerned, I left about 10,


And when I got there,
I had stopped getting responses,

so it was to the point of, like,
"Well, what's going on?"

Well, this was about midnight.
That's what you said. And you...

She had left like an hour after.

We sat there for a little bit and talked.

Oh, well, you forgot to tell me that.

Yeah, well...

[Judy] You sort of forgot to tell me that.
You said you wanted space.

[Joshua] I did. I was just over the night
and everything.

-It was a long night at work.
-So now we're at 1:00.

Because if you said you chatted...

My timeframes might be off
a little bit here.

They better get straight, sir.

You been in court before?

-In the past.
-[Judy] In the past.

-As a young one.
-[Judy] Okay.

So you know it's important
that you remember,

and you've had some time to remember
because, according to you,

you weren't drunk,
you had just come home from work.

So you should be clearheaded.

So you did chat with her for an hour,
tell her how upset you were

and she wanted to stay and,
"All right, then I'm going to John."

It happened in a very civilized fashion.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] Is that right?

-"Uh-huh."
-[Joshua] Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

-See, she can't take down "uh-huh."
-[Joshua] I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[Judy] Okay.
And she stopped responding to you.

At some point, when you tried to text her,
she was in John's house.

-Yes. Yes.
-[Judy] That's what you said.

What happened next?

And then I got irritated that, you know,
she stopped responding.

I just said, "Well, screw it.
I should go home."

I was getting
eaten up by mosquitoes.

And she did say,
"Come knock on the window if I fall asleep

to wake me up
if you want me to come back over."

Oh, really? Just a second.
When did she say that to you?

Before or after you told her

that you weren't interested
in her staying for the night?

She said, "If you change your mind,
come knock on the window.

I'll be in the front room."

She said that by text.

No, in person, in front of my garage
as she was leaving.

[laughs]
Do I look stupid?

-Is there a sign here?
-No. No, ma'am.

Okay. So you'd been texting each other,
but that she told you.

She said, "Come and wake me up"?

"If you change your mind."

By knocking at the window?

'Cause I didn't want to have sex.
I was irritated.

Well, what did you want to have

when you went over to his house
at 3:00 in the morning?

I kinda wanted to apologize for being a...

Okay. So this is what the case is about.

He broke the window in your house.

Correct.

[Judy] And you want him to pay
for the repair of the window.

[John] Correct.

Got it. Simple as that.

Should be.

Now you can bring in Brittany.

[theme music playing]

Was he happy that you were out
with John and Skyler?

Um, well...

-[bangs gavel]
-Careful.

I know everything.

Okay.

[Judy] I want you to know
that I know everything.

Was he happy that you were out
with John and Skyler?

No.

What did he text you?

[theme music playing]

[narrator] John Mauro claims
the defendant, Joshua Leiss,

is responsible for breaking
his bedroom window.

Joshua says he touched the window,
but it did not break.

-Thanks.
-[Judy] Okay, Brittany.

-You stand next to Mr. Leiss.
-Okay.

[Judy]
I have a few questions for you.

Mr. Leiss tells me that the two of you
were not living together on September 1st.

Is that right?

Correct.

And that night on September 1st,
Mr. Leiss was working.

Correct.

[Judy]
What time does he usually get home?

I can't remember the day it is.

Normally, Tuesday, Wednesdays,
he does work 14 hours.

Sometimes on Thursdays,
he does work 14 hours also.

But I can't...

-Tell her...
-[Judy] Do you remember...shh!

-I don't want to hear.
-Sorry.

I don't want you to open your mouth.

Yes, ma'am.

That night, he was coming home later.

Correct.

And you decided to go out with your friend
and her boyfriend.

-Correct.
-[Judy] What time did you leave?

Around possibly 6:00 or 7:00.

Were you staying at Mr. Leiss' house?

At the time, I was actually staying
with my roommate.

I was over at her house.

I may have stopped at his house
just for a few minutes.

He wasn't home?

[Brittany]
Yeah, correct.

[Judy] Okay. So, now, at about 6:00,
you went out for dinner?

Dinner, a few drinks.

And how did you communicate with Mr. Leiss
that you were out for the evening

with your friend and her boyfriend?

I was just letting him know that I was
going over to her house

and I would be there soon.

And you were communicating with him
by text message.

Correct.

[Judy] You have your text messages
for that night?

I tried to scroll back to that night.

I couldn't bring up anything 'cause
so many text messages are in there.

I couldn't bring it up.

I just kept scrolling.

[Judy] Okay. So you texted him that you
were out for dinner and a few drinks.

And what did he say to you
in the text?

Um... I...
I can't remember at the time of what...

Was he happy that you were out
with John and Skyler?

Um, well, we had a little disagreement.

-[bangs gavel]
-Careful. I know everything.

Okay.

[Judy]
I want you to know that I know everything.

Was he happy that you were out
with John and Skyler?

No.

What did he text you?

He was sending me messages that...
to not come back

until I was ready to come home
the next day.

So that's what I did.

You didn't go over to his house?

I did go over to his house
after we got done going out. I did, yes.

Yes, you went over to his house.

[Brittany] Correct.

And what time did you get there?

I wanna say
it was around 12:00 AM, 1:00 AM.

Okay. And what happened
when you got there?

He politely asked me to leave,

and I tried telling him, like, I wanted
to try and work it out with him.

And he politely asked me to leave again.

I continued to stay there,
trying to, you know,

overbear him with everything
that was going on.

Like what?

Of us arguing,
of me going out with them.

[Judy] What was wrong
with going out with them?

-Just...
-[Judy] Look at me, Brittany.

I'm asking you a question.

What was wrong with going out
with your friend and her boyfriend?

What did he say was wrong
with you going out?

I was too intoxicated at the time.

[Judy]
Is that what he said to you?

I believe so.

-[Judy] Were you drunk?
-I was.

Did you drive to his house?

-Um, before...
-Did you drive to his house at 12:00?

[Brittany] Yes.

Drunk?

No, I was not drunk.

[Judy] Well, just a second. You either
were drunk or you weren't drunk.

You said, "He was mad because
I was too intoxicated."

And you drove there.
Were you drunk or were you not drunk?

-Now you're not drunk.
-[Brittany] I was drunk.

-I was very much drunk.
-[Judy] Okay, so you drove drunk.

Correct.

-And he told you to leave.
-[Brittany] He did.

Politely.

-Politely.
-[Judy] Oh, just a second.

Politely at first, yes.
Politely at first.

I just want to tell you
who you're dealing with.

I'm 80 years old, plus one.

This is not stupid.

How did he tell you to leave?

At first, he nicely asked me to leave.

And then I kept going on and on,
continuing to ask him if I could stay.

-[Judy] To stay.
-If I could stay.

And it kept making him upset.
It made him upset.

Which is understandable.
I get that.

And then he...
And then...

-[Judy] And then what?
-I told him I was...

You're getting red in the chest.
Be careful.

I... I told him...
I told him that I would just leave

and I would go back to their house
and stay.

When he got upset, what happened?

When I told him I was leaving?

No, before you wouldn't leave
when he got upset.

Do you remember what you texted
your friend Skyler?

No, I don't.

[Judy]
Well, Skyler has it on her phone.

Kevin, can I see the...

So this is from lunchtime to...

Well, you had been fighting
with him all day.

You'd been fighting with him all day.
That's what you told her.

[Brittany]
I'm guessing so. I don't...

[Judy] What do you mean,
you're guessing so?

That's what you told her.
Am I reading this wrong?

-You weren't fighting with John.
-No.

[Judy]
You were fighting with him all day.

I don't remember.
I don't remember anything that I had said.

[Judy]
What's your first name?

-Mine?
-[Judy] Yours.

Joshua.

"Me and Josh have been fighting
all night and day.

I really don't wanna sit around
and think about anything.

I've had two hours' sleep
and that's it." Does that sound familiar?

Yes.

She tells you
that you need clothes.

"I can see if I have anything in this bag,
but I doubt I do.

I'm crying. I'm trying to calm down
before I get there."

Does that sound familiar?

I don't remember.

"You're literally dumb. You let your man
hit you and you won't call the police."

That sound familiar?

I... I don't remember
any of the messages.

Stand up, please.

[theme music playing]

Now you remember that?
That sound familiar?

Brittany! Pay careful attention.
I have the phone.

Does it sound familiar
that there was broken glass

in the room
where you were sleeping?

Correct.

The glass wasn't broken
when you went to sleep, right?

-She was...
-I'm not asking you anything!

[theme music playing]

[narrator] John Mauro has accused
the defendant, Joshua Leiss,

of breaking his bedroom window.

Joshua claims John is overcharging him
for a window he did not break.

Did you say to your friend Skyler,
"He wants to resolve it

and he was saying he would literally
give John money to help fix it.

He just wants everything dropped,"
because the police were called, correct?

-Correct.
-[Judy] Okay.

-[Judy] And this is you talking, correct?
-Correct.

"He was just trying to come wake me up
to talk and apologize to me

and didn't think when he knocked
on the window it was that hard.

He said he truly didn't mean it at all
and has repeatedly said he's sorry."

Is that what you said
to your friend Skyler?

-Correct.
-[Judy] All righty.

And then the response is,
"Brittany, he wrapped his hand

around a blank shirt
to punch the window out.

He was just knocking?
Are you blank kidding me?

Are you guys getting back together?"

And you respond,
"He said he didn't wrap it up at all.

He just said he just had it in his hand
and didn't even use that hand.

It was the opposite one.

And I don't know.

I told him things need to be resolved
and things need to get fixed.

If Johnny could just drop everything,
I would be happy.

Josh is going to make everything right."

Now, how did you know
Josh is going to make everything right?

-Because you spoke to him.
-Correct.

And he told you he was gonna
make everything right with the window.

He just didn't want
the police involved anymore.

I'm listening.

Correct.

[Judy]
All righty.

What's the issue, Josh?

You went over to wake her up,
you were mad, and you broke his window.

The window wasn't broken
when I went there.

So your girlfriend's a liar?

I'm not saying she's a liar.
That's what... I was pressed.

-They were like, "Either you're gonna...
-[Judy] No, no, no, no, no.

I'm not talking about the police.

I'm talking to you about
what you said to your girlfriend.

She says you told her
you're just gonna make it right.

Yes.

You'll make everything right.
You just don't want the police involved.

He was upset.
I mean, what am I supposed to do?

I was trying to make everyone happy.

I'm trying to be
a peacemaker here with this.

[laughs]

All right. You were awakened,
I don't know, it says 3:00 in the morning.

Is that the time it was?

It was about 4:51 AM.

Okay, and you heard a crash in your house.

-[John] Shattering, yes.
-Okay.

And what did you do?

Jumped up out of bed.
We were dead asleep.

Couldn't tell where it came from,
so started searching the rooms

to see what happened.

Brittany came out of her room.
We asked her if her window was okay.

She said yeah, so I'm checking all
the other windows throughout the house.

Can't find anything.

Finally, I go into Brittany's room,

and there's glass all over the bed
she was sleeping in

'cause the window
was right next to the bed.

Now you remember that?
That sound familiar?

Brittany! Pay careful attention.
I have the phone.

Does it sound familiar
that there was broken glass

in the room
where you were sleeping?

Correct.

All right! Perfect!

The glass wasn't broken
when you went to sleep, right?

-She was...
-I'm not asking you anything!

The glass wasn't broken
when you went to sleep, was it?

Correct.

You remember Johnny coming down
to look to see what the noise was?

Yes!

You remember Johnny
coming down in the early morning

to see what had happened?

Yes.

Do you remember him going into your room?

Yes, but that was after, like,
we searched the entire house.

He searched with you.

And then when he went into your room,
where you had been sleeping, I assume,

the window that was broken
was in your room.

-Correct.
-[Judy] All righty.

You don't have to be a genius
to connect these dots.

I have a great-grandchild
who's going to be a year old tomorrow.

He could connect these dots.

How much did it cost to fix the window?

The replacement window was $2,081.20.

-You have the...
-[John] I do.

It was two payments in yellow.

[Judy] $2,081.

Correct.

Judgment for the plaintiff.
Thank you very much.

You better rethink this.
I'm telling you, you better rethink it.

For your own sake,
you better rethink it.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

-This way.
-[John and Skyler] Thank you.

I didn't break their window,
and $2,100 for a window in Florida

that's not impact-proof,
that's insane.

I think the judge was very fair
and could see through their lies

and their story
of what happened that night.

I just knocked, just a casual knock,

and maybe my bracelet
hairline-fractured it,

but I didn't break that window
when I left there.

Yeah, well, it was definitely broken.
We have pictures and video of it as well.

I'm happy it's behind me.
It's outrageous, 2,180 for a window.

That's...
That's unheard of.

I think instead of running around
breaking windows at 4:00 AM,

he should probably get a second job
so he can afford his actions.

It should be bulletproof for that price.

-Thank you, Judy Justice.
-Thank you.

So to all the young ladies out there,
there are warning signs.

And sometimes the need to nest,
which most women have,

obscures your good judgment.

But if you have to flee somebody once,

it should be the only time.

Sure.

Even if they get annoyed at you
going out for dinner and drinks

with your friend
and her boyfriend or partner, you know.

Red flag.
That's the first one.

That doesn't jive with
"I came home from work 8:30, 9:00,

I was tired, I worked a 14-hour day,"
and then you're up 4:00 in the morning.

Mm-hmm.

Because you've been texting
back and forth.

Which both people
conveniently couldn't find.

Interesting that
the witness could find it.

Yeah.

But she seems like a mild,
young lady, Brittany.

You shouldn't be with someone
who breaks windows by accident.

-And who's familiar with courts.
-Yeah.

-So, beware.
-Yeah.

Sometimes, the need to nest

shouldn't interfere
with your own gut reaction of somebody.

-Yeah, I agree.
-Anyway, I hope she's smart.

-Hopefully, it works out.
-Life.

[narrator]
Are you having a family dispute?



[theme music playing]