Dispute Over Casino Voucher Leads To Home Invasion In Middletown: Cops

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A dispute over money related to a casino trip turned into a home invasion arrest in Middletown, police said.

According to an arraignment report affidavit, a police investigation ensued after Middletown dispatch received a call about a domestic incident at a local home. Screaming could be heard in the home during the call, according to an arraignment report affidavit.

One of the combatants, identified in police records as 43-year-old New Jersey woman Demetria Leary, told officers when they arrived that the fight at the Middletown home was an extension of a trip back from a casino, according to an arraignment report affidavit.

Leary told police that while at a casino, she gave a companion $100 to continue gambling and he, in turn, asked her to hold a casino voucher valued at $900. While arguing on the way back, the man took them to the Middletown Police Department, where they agreed to part ways, according to an arraignment report affidavit.

As the man was walking home, Leary went to his home, took some car keys, and went to Hartford to spend the night at a cousin's home, according to an arraignment report affidavit.

The next day, Leary returned to the casino to retrieve the $900, but a machine indicated the ticket had already been cashed, according to an arraignment report affidavit. She then returned to the home in Middletown to at least get her $100 back, and when getting no response from inside, used an "ID card" to manipulate a backdoor lock and entered the home.

Another fight broke out in the dwelling that left bite marks on the man, along with a torn shirt, an arraignment report affidavit indicates.

Middletown police arrested Leary for home invasion, as well as third-degree assault and criminal attempt at both third-degree robbery and second-degree larceny and held on a $350,000 bond, according to an arraignment report affidavit. The following day in court, the invasion and assault charges were revised to "attempts," and the bond was reduced to $40,000, which Leary posted, according to judicial system records.

She is due back in court on Feb. 5, records indicate.