I received a summons to appear for criminal mischief 1st degree?

Question

i rented a house where the landlord had evicted the tenants. their stuff was still in the house but the landlord had changed the locks. when he showed me the house he told me i could have one months rent free to clean it as all their stuff was still in the house. i assumed he had seized their stuff for non payment. he told me i could keep it or throw it away or whatever, so alot of it I got rid of. am i at fault? what is my best defense?

Answer 1

First ... look up your state's landlord tenant laws by searching for the "name of the state" and "residential landlord tenant law" ... find a copy of the law.

Then, find out what the LANDLORD should have done in a case of abandonment ... in many states he would have had to put the stuff in storage for quite a while. A landlord is usually responsible for the tenants posessions

The previous tenant's beef should be with the landlord for not following the laws, not you for clearing out the stuff.

Give back whatever you can identify as theirs, and tell the judge that you thought the landlord knew what he was doing.

Answer 2

the previous tenants- the true owners of the stuff can claim from lamdlord and not you.  u got the stuff  from the landlord and he allowed u to dispose it in any manner. in fact as far as u r concerned, the landlord is the owner and he gave u willingly for disposing in any manner. this is your defence.

Answer 3

It will all fall on the land lord, you did what you were told. By giving you a month free rent to dispose of the previous owners  property, you can consider your self as hired to do a job for him. You will not be found at fault. Good Luck

Answer 4

You were arrested? On whose say-so? Get a lawyer, but your defence is the landlord told you you had to clean the place out.

Answer 5

make  a fake contract