DEFENSE: Former Cop Accused of Trashing Home Was Taking What Was His

A former San Diego Police officer and his wife accused of trashing their home after it went into foreclosure were only taking what was theirs, a defense attorney argued on Monday.

Former officer Robert Acosta and his wife, Monique Evette Acosta, appeared in the , for opening statements for their trial.

The wife's attorney told the jury the couple was only trying to take what belonged to them, according to the Californian.

The couple destroyed a bannister in the house to remove a bar they installed, he said. "The bar actually got stuck on the staircase," Joshua Knight told the jurors. "They had to do something. Otherwise, there was going to be a bar stuck on the staircase."

The couple went beyond stripping the home of their own belongings, a prosecutor argued, according to the paper. The couple was charged with stripping the home of fixtures in a plan to defraud the bank that was taking over their home.

The bank estimated the home sustained about $165,000 in damage and $44,000 worth of items were stolen.