BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A 48-year-old woman is facing assault, criminal mischief and harassment charges after a dispute with a man she says had been living in her apartment without authorization, according to testimony presented Wednesday in Kings County Criminal Court.
The incident occurred March 3, 2026, after police officers from the 79th Precinct in Brooklyn were called to the accused’s apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The accused allegedly damaged a door in the apartment building where she lived and served as the property manager at the time.
Deputy Public Defender Samuel Bernstein told the court that the complainant had been “freeloading” in the accused’s apartment. Bernstein also said that, despite several attempts, the complainant refused to leave her home.
How the complainant came to be living in the accused’s living room was not made clear.
The accused, a Cameroonian immigrant and community organizer, said the complainant originally identified himself as a construction worker and later claimed to be the building’s custodian. Bernstein said there is no proof supporting either of those claims.
Bernstein also said he received “a dozen” police body camera videos from the officers who responded to the dispute. He said he had to comb through each video, some of which had no audio, and that many of them were unrelated to his client’s case.
He described the accused as “the victim in this situation,” saying she has since been suspended from her job because of her arrest.
The accused has maintained her innocence and pleaded not guilty to each charge at every court appearance.
She is scheduled to return to court Sept. 29, 2026.
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